Searching for the Sun Lands
by Raberba girl
Summary: Fantasy AU. "What!" cried the braided mage. "You kidnapped Princess Relena and then lost her to that Winner sultan? What kind of assassin ARE you, Heero?" No slash.
1. Princess Relena is kidnapped

Searching for the Sun Lands

(rough draft)

A Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl

Summary: Fantasy AU. "What!" cried the braided mage. "You kidnapped Princess Relena and then lost her to that Winner sultan? What kind of assassin ARE you, Heero?" No slash. **Permanently incomplete.**

**Chapter 1 - In which Princess Relena is kidnapped**

"You know," she said conversationally, "back home I am used to taking my pony out for a ride to get some air before dinner. Not riding hard for hours and hours without any breaks for food or rest."

There was no answer, of course. Relena sighed. Then, to her surprise, the silent young man sitting in front of her reached down to pull a water skin from one of the saddlebags, and offer it to her over his shoulder. He did not bother to speak or even turn his head.

Relena sighed again. "Thank you," she said politely. She had been well-brought up, even if she did not always choose to let her behavior match her training. She took the water and gulped at it gratefully. Though of course, as soon as her dry mouth was soothed, her stomach began rumbling.

"Any chance of having supper soon?" she suggested. She glanced over at the sun, burning hugely near the horizon in the dark rays of late afternoon. "Or are we going to ride through the night like in my romance novels? I am afraid that would be quite hard on the horse."

The young assassin wondered if all captives were this annoying. Maybe it was just because she was a princess. It would not surprise him if such creatures were prone to excessive talking and the inability to perceive danger to their persons. Was it possible she did not realize she was being kidnapped?

"Excuse me, Mr. Kidnapper?" she asked, effectively cutting down that theory. "I admit I have no experience with how these operations usually go, but surely they don't involve the captive...ehrm...going for so long without...you know." When he did not react, she narrowed her eyes and said bluntly, "Or would you _like_ to suddenly be sitting in a puddle of urine?"

He brought the horse to an abrupt halt, dismounted and lifted her off as easily as if she was made of straw. "One minute," he told her.

"_Excuse_ me?" Oh dear. The stresses of the day had finally caught up to her. Too late now. "Maybe _you_ can relieve yourself in one minute, with your useful man-trousers-" she gestured, indicating the easily-laceable front of his garment, "-but I'd like to see you try it with skirts like these, even torn ones!"

As they stared at each other, Relena felt a blush creeping up her face, as she remembered the way he had ripped away several layers of her clothing earlier that morning. She understood now that he had simply been reducing her bulk in preparation for the journey (there was no way the two of them would have fit on one horse if she still had all her petticoats on), but it had been an extremely embarrassing moment. Frightening, too, though he had made no move to touch her inappropriately since then.

To hide her discomfort, she went on heatedly, "And where exactly do you expect me to do my business?" She waved her arms around at the landscape, featuring prickly grass, spindly trees, and bushes that were certainly not high or thick enough for her purposes.

She was rather gratified to see him close his eyes and rub at his forehead in an exasperated way. She was actually getting to him. Was it possible he had feelings after all, locked up somewhere in that rocky exterior?

"I won't look," he grumbled, turning his back and walking around to the other side of the horse. When he heard nothing, he growled out, "If you don't get moving, I'm putting you back on the horse and we'll be off again." He heard her sigh - again - and move away. He was not at all afraid that she would try to run; even if she did, it would be an easy matter to catch her, either on foot or horseback.

He was having a bad day. First that grueling journey, then the encounter with that infuriating fae, then his mission going so wrong, then Wing disappearing on him so that he had to buy a horse on short notice, and now he had to put up with a princess that irritated him to no end...was it all worth it? There was no way to tell at this point.

"Are you done yet?" he called.

"Almost." She came hesitantly back to him, tugging nervously at her ruined skirts. "Um...what's your name, by the way?"

"You don't need to know my name." Which was good, since he did not really have one.

"I've got to have _something_ to call you."

"'Mr. Kidnapper' is fine," he grunted, putting her back on the horse and springing up in front of her.

"No it's not," she snapped, then bit her lip. She did not want him to catch on to her fear. "How about...Hero? Do you mind being called that?"

"Call me what you want. I'm not your hero, though."

She smiled wryly. "That's true. But it makes me feel better to pretend you are." Otherwise this experience would be unbearable.

o.o.o.o.o

To Relena's acute relief, they did not journey through the night. The sun was half-swallowed by the horizon by the time Hero stopped near a clump of skinny trees and dismounted.

"What a pleasant campsite," Relena remarked.

"You see a better one?" he retorted, as he pulled her down and began unloading the horse. Relena glanced out over the landscape and had to admit he was right. There wasn't much out here, except some scrubby vegetation and the Peacemillion Mountains looming in the distance.

She turned back and was just opening her mouth to offer to help, when it occurred to her that she had absolutely no obligation to this young man: he was committing a crime against her. She stood there for a while, watching him, testing out the idea that she could simply leave all the work to him and be justified.

Princess Relena, however, was not the kind of person to resort to such pettiness, even if she was entitled to. She sighed - she seemed to be doing that a lot lately - and started searching for dry sticks they could use for a fire.

Hero emptied out his pack and unfolded it, spreading it between the trees in the hope it would provide some shield from the wind. When he turned back to see about making a fire, he was surprised to find the princess kneeling on the ground, arranging sticks in a pile. Then she raised her head and their eyes met.

"Would you lend me your flint?" she asked.

"Do you know how to use it?" he said doubtfully.

Her lips tightened. "You must think I'm a completely spoiled baby," she gritted out. "I _have_ lit one or two lamps in my life, you know."

He tossed it over, and was unsurprised when her fumbling fingers missed it.

"Don't nod your head like that! I've caught things before, too." There was no answer. Her face burning, Relena bent over pile and almost cried with humiliation when her shaking fingers couldn't light a spark. _'Oh Relena, just stop pretending,'_ she thought angrily at herself. _'You are in control of nothing, you are a helpless captive and there's no point trying to prove you're a match for him in anything, because you're not.'_

Hero saw the tears sliding down her face and rolled his eyes. He pushed her out of the way and lit the fire himself, sparking a tuft of dried grass and gradually feeding it small twigs until it was strong enough to take larger pieces of wood.

When he looked up from this fairly lengthy task, he was quite surprised to find that the princess had not only found the food stores, but had laid out servings of bread and cheese for each of them. She said nothing, however, and did not look at him when he took his share, beginning to eat only after he did.

He was puzzled by a nagging uncomfortable feeling, as if he had done something wrong. As minutes dragged past the feeling grew, until finally in desperation he said roughly, "I'll set out snares. Hopefully by morning we'll have a rabbit or something for breakfast." It was the best he could do for an apology.

"I don't eat meat," she lied demurely.

Feeling rather as if she had slapped him (a harmless girly weakling slap, of course), Hero turned away from her and they finished their meal in silence.

Relena grew nervous as she ran out of excuses to delay going to bed. Even if her kidnapper continued to keep his hands off her, she did not relish the idea of falling asleep and being helpless in his presence.

Eventually, however, it could be put off no longer. Relena sat leaning against a tree as she tried to stay awake, wrapped in a thin blanket (the only one they had). Hero sat against another tree on the opposite side of the fire. She found herself jerking her head up and realizing she had dozed off for a few moments at least.

"You should sleep," he told her.

"You should sleep too," she shot back.

"No," was the simple answer. Of _course_ he couldn't sleep; not only did he have to make sure she didn't sneak off or attempt to kill him or something, but there was no telling what enemies lurked in the darkness of this strange land.

He waited until her head was lolling and she began to make soft snoring noises. He crept to her side and carefully lay her down, hoping that she would sleep more deeply if she was more comfortable. Then he settled down again and resumed his watch.

o.o.o.o.o

Relena awakened the next morning, rather unpleasantly, to a strange booming sound and the spine-chilling screams of an animal. She scrambled up to find that the horse had torn itself free and was bolting in terror.

That held little of her attention, since there was a truly enormous creature looming over her. The whiteness of its belly was dazzling in the early morning sunlight, the scales of its multi-colored back glittering like jewels, and the wind from its huge wings was throwing the camp into disarray and causing the embers of the fire to glow brightly.

Hero was on his feet, yelling. "Where have you BEEN?" he shouted up at Wing. "I had to waste good money on a horse because of you!"

The creature lowered its head very close to Hero's and grunted, the wind from its nostrils whipping his dark hair into a wilder mess than usual.

"What do you mean you found another one?" he shot back. "You know there aren't anymore dragons in the Old World."

At any other time Relena would have been amused to see her taciturn kidnapper roused to such furious passion. In this particular case, however, she was much more concerned with panic and terror at the thought of being burned to a crisp and/or eaten by a giant dragon. "I...I thought those were extinct!" she gasped weakly.

With alarming quickness, the huge emerald eyes shifted in her direction, and that vast head drifted to hover over her. Relena squeezed her eyes shut, about to faint from terror. She knew _exactly_ how the horse had felt.

"Don't hurt her, Wing," Hero said quickly. "I went to a lot of trouble to get her. We have a new mission to take her to the mountains."

The dragon made a rumbling noise at the bottom of its elongated throat, so low and deep that Relena could feel her very heart throbbing in response. Slowly, she raised her head, though she was unable to prevent her hands from covering her eyes. "It...it's nice to meet you," she whispered. She wished she could take back those thoughtless first words that must have angered it.

With a supreme effort, she managed to peek through her fingers just a little, enough for her tiny blue eyes to meet the huge green one that was pinning her with its gaze. She swallowed, trying to moisten her dry throat. "My name is Relena Peacecraft," she managed. It seemed somehow silly to add her royal title when speaking to such a majestic, dangerous being as this. "What's yours?"

For a long moment, the dragon didn't move. Then it pulled away and made a strange chuckling noise.

"Wing has decided not to kill you," Hero told her. "Now come on, let's go."

As he set about gathering up the scattered remains of the camp, Relena forced down a scream at the realization that he was expecting her to _ride_ this terrible creature. _'I can't! I can't! Is he crazy...?'_

Relena preferred not to dwell on the experience of either having to approach the terrifying creature to climb onto it, or of its laborious takeoff into the sky. Her eyes had been closed much of the time, anyway.

The dragon was so massive that there was enough room for the two of them to settle in the dip at the base of its neck, without (much) fear of falling off. Hero secured their supplies, then stretched out on his back and flopped an arm over his eyes.

"What are you doing?" she asked shakily. The constant movement of the flying dragon, and the knowledge that they were hundreds of feet in the air, were not doing good things to her stomach.

"Resting. Don't bother me."

So the sleepless night had caught up to him. Relena smiled a little, then tried to settle her skirts more comfortably under her. Heat from the dragon's - Wing's - body seeped up from its scales, already causing sweat to trickle under her arms and her forehead to feel sticky.

Relena wiped at her face and looked at Hero, this mysterious, close-mouthed young man. Where had he come from? Why had he taken her? How had he been able to get through all the security measures in place to protect her? And, most importantly, what did he intend to do with her in the mountains? She knew nothing about him, which was as frustrating for the people-loving princess as it was frightening.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: The idea came to me when I was thinking about what it'd be like if Relena was the princess of a peace-promoting kingdom, then attacked by another warmongering kingdom...and I mean, that's pretty much what happens in the anime, but I suddenly started thinking about it in fantasy terms, and that was it.


	2. Captain Noin tries to stay alive

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 2 - In which Captain Noin tries to stay alive (rough draft)**

The first thing she became aware of was an aching pain throughout her whole body. Lucrezia Noin, captain of the royal guard, opened her eyes and gingerly lifted her head.

What she saw was a nightmare under the shining sun, a field of corpses and those who would be better off as corpses. The bodies were being picked over by birds and other vermin, and by people-

Noin quickly shut her eyes and dropped her head again, her heart pounding. Those soldiers sorting through the aftermath of battle had been wearing enemy colors. Uesa had won victory - the Sanc Kingdom was done for, and so was Noin if the enemy discovered her still alive.

Carefully, she cracked her eyes open again to get a better look around. A pang of sadness struck her when she saw Aries lying silent and still where he had fallen. She remembered now that while she had been riding the wyvern, he had been blasted out of the sky; the reason she felt so bad now was because she had had to leap clear before he hit the ground.

Pushing aside her grief, steeling herself against the sight of her friends and subordinates, now dead and mangled almost beyond recognition, Noin concentrated on crawling her way undetected out of this sea of death.

The sun was just starting to set when Noin finally reached cover. Painfully, she climbed to her feet and slipped into the lengthening shadows of the palace walls. Making her way around, she eventually came to a side-door and cautiously slipped inside.

The stench in the room was little better than what it had been outside. Noin raised a fist to cover her mouth as she surveyed rows of groaning men, lying on cots or makeshift pallets around her. This room must have been hastily turned into a sick bay. Hearing footsteps in the hallway outside, Noin quickly dropped to the floor facing a wall and pretended she was a wounded soldier as well. Frankly, her clothes were so filthy and bloody that she blended in fairly well.

Someone entered the room, a woman by the sound of her rather irritated voice. "...and I've certainly got better things to do than answer summons from the enemy. You see this room? You see all these people? They need help, and _apparently_ I'm the only one around here who can help them. In fact, why don't _you_ help, young man? Put your butt to better use than guarding me all day; go fill this bucket with hot water - HOT water, make sure it burns your hand when you stick it in," she added sarcastically. "And when you come back, I've got rolls of cloth you can tear up for bandages."

"But...Madame Healer..."

"You trying to cross a mage, boy? Now get going!"

"Y-Yes, ma'am."

Noin listened carefully for the sound of the enemy soldier leaving, then rolled over and hissed urgently, "Sally!"

The young healer jumped and nearly dropped the armful of supplies she was carrying. "Noi- What are you doing here?! You're dead!"

"Not yet," Noin said grimly. "Sally, I need your help."

"I'll say you do." Sally was already in motion, grabbing a blood-stained Uesian war-cloak and throwing it over Noin's shoulders. "Take your coat off, girl, it's got the marks of Peacecraft all over it."

"You're asking me to shed the signs of my allegiance?" Noin said indignantly, crossing her arms protectively over her chest, where her ribbons of office were displayed.

"Noin," Sally said in exasperation, "you're not Prince Milliard, so stop acting like him. You want to get cut down before you take two steps out of this room, or you want to live long enough to fetch the prince?"

Noin hesitated, but had to do as Sally said in the end. After she pulled off her jacket, Sally quickly combed her hair back and tied it into a rough ponytail with a ragged strip of cloth. She laughed a little as she explained, "That hair of yours is always in your face; I'm hoping no one will recognize you if it's pulled back. Just in case, though..." She grabbed the hood of the cloak and flopped it over Noin's head. "Step careful, Noin, this place has been overrun. I have to get to work before that guard comes back, but go to the kitchens; some of our serving maids are still there."

"Sally," Noin said urgently, "the royals. Are they all right?"

Sally looked at her sadly. "No. They're not." As she opened her mouth to explain further, they suddenly heard the Uesian soldier returning. "Go," Sally hissed, and pushed her away.

Noin decided that she really, really hated having to skulk around her own home, shrouded in a cloak, trying desperately to avoid the notice of her enemies, who happened to be over half the people she saw. "Sally wasn't kidding," she muttered. Well of course she wasn't; they had just lost a war. Was there any chance, _any_, that the king was still alive, that the queen and princess had somehow escaped and were not at the mercy of cruel captors? Noin felt sick at the thought. If the prince knew about this...

But he didn't. That was Noin's job, to find him and bring him home.

However, she couldn't do that empty-handed. She reached the kitchens at last, where Uesian soldiers lounged and grim-faced servants went silently about their work. It was a far cry from the busy, cheerful place Noin had once enjoyed visiting, to catch a bite to eat or joke with the head cook. Whom she couldn't see, by the way. Probably one of the many palace staff members who had been killed or dragged off for interrogation.

Deepening her voice, Noin barked gruffly at one of the serving-girls, "Food. Beer. Hurry up." The girl gave Noin a disgusted look, but did not dare disobey. Noin dropped onto a bench, not bothering to hide her exhaustion, and noticed with a little smile that the girl, whose name was Mary, vengefully spit into the bowl before she brought it over. Mary wordlessly dumped the stew and the mug of beer onto the bench next to Noin, then turned to leave.

Noin grabbed the girl by the hip and plunked her down onto her knee. "Keep me comp'ny, girlie," she grunted.

"Hey!" Mary said angrily, trying and failing to get up. "Let go of me, you-"

_"Where is Princess Relena?"_

Mary's mouth dropped open.

Picking up the beer, Noin tipped back her head to take a drink, not taking her eyes away from Mary's. The girl gasped as Noin's face became more visible.

"You're-!"

"Sit still, wench," Noin quickly ordered, again adopting her attempt at a man's voice.

"Uh...erm...stop it," Mary stammered, rather unconvincingly. Then she whispered urgently, _"Don't eat the stew! I spit in it!"_

_"Forget about that,"_ Noin hissed. _"The royals, where are they?"_

Mary bit her lip, her eyes visibly moistening. _"The king's dead. Queen's been captured. But..."_ She hesitated, and Noin spooned up a bite of stew, too hungry and preoccupied to care about its questionable contents.

_"Go on."_

"Um..." Mary looked uncertain for a minute, but then her eyes steeled for what she had to say. _"She's gone - no one knows where. Aeris said she was taken just after the fighting started."_

Noin chewed automatically, not tasting it at all. The princess had been missing since this morning? _"Taken?"_

_"A man killed her guards and took her."_

Noin froze for a minute, struck by a fresh wave of grief. Those had been her own men. Noin herself should have been at Relena's side, but with Uesa's unexpected attack and the prince being gone, Noin had been sorely needed for the battle. She should have been glad that apparently at least one of the princess's maids had survived, but Noin didn't know them the way she knew the soldiers she had trained from boyhood.

Forcing herself past the pain, Noin managed to ask, _"Colors?"_

Mary hesitated. _"None. He was all in black."_ She paused, and added slowly, _"He might not have been from Uesa."_

Now Noin was torn. The Sanc Kingdom sorely needed its prince - its new king - in this dark hour. Yet the princess needed Noin even more. Should Noin head for Uesa, to give her grim message to Milliard? Or should she search for Relena? The prince, after all, was safe for the moment, and he would hear of his country's defeat soon enough. Besides...it gave Noin chills just to imagine the terrifying look on his face, if he were to discover that Noin had chosen to abandon his sister for the sake of some petty (in his eyes, at least) mission.

_"I need supplies. And...Aries is dead."_

Mary looked at her sympathetically. She knew how the soldiers could get attached to their wyvern mounts. _"Go around to the pantry; I'll get you what you need. And the Uesian mounts that couldn't fit in the stables are being kept by the south wall."_

Noin nodded. Then, noticing the way the enemy soldiers were leering, she said worriedly, _"I'm sorry, Mary..."_

The girl smiled and guided Noin's hand to her skirt. Undoubtedly it gave a certain impression to onlookers, but Noin smiled to feel the outline of a knife hidden in a pocket of the girl's clothing.

_"I'll be fine. Go on, captain."_ She tugged Noin's hood back down over her forehead, then hopped off her lap and went back to work.

_To be continued..._


	3. Zechs explores the Lost City

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 3 - In which Zechs finds interesting things in the Lost City (rough draft)**

_'They call themselves Uesa's finest, and yet they're nothing but superstitious cowards when it comes down to it,'_ Zechs thought in disgust.

So here he was, tramping through the underground ruins of the Lost City, completely alone because not a single one of his men would come down with him. When Treize found out, he would have their hides for sure. The new king of Uesa may have had his own reasons for allowing Zechs to remain masked and relatively free, but he did not trust him, and rightly so.

Why was he thinking about politics when there could be danger lurking around any corner? Zechs returned his attention to his task, and to keeping alert. There was no telling what he might run into here, this place where no human being had set foot in hundreds of years.

The city may have been underground, but it was by no means dark. The very rock of the walls emanated a steady glow, the source of which was still a mystery. If it was a spell, it was an unbelievably powerful one, to remain unfaded after all this time; or if it was some kind of unfathomably advanced technology, the means of duplicating it had long been lost. Or it could simply have been a natural characteristic of the rock. Whichever it was, it was useful, and Zechs had no inclination to question it.

The streets were laid out in an orderly manner, but by this time they had been choked by debris. Zechs had to pick his way, since even the light from the walls, his torch, and the occasional surface shafts was not enough to make the place easy to see.

He smiled a little as he mused over the riches he must be walking obliviously past. It was clear that in its heyday, this city had been a rich one, constructed of granite and marble with precious jewels encrusting the very doorways and windows; but he had neither time nor desire to search for treasures. He was a prince, not easily impressed by gold or gems, and despite his impatience with the behavior of his men, he himself felt the silent chill of the place keenly. He wanted to complete the mission and get back out of here as quickly as possible.

One thing, however, did give him pause. One of the side-streets came up to a rock wall, and continued on as a sort of tunnel. This was not unusual; what caught his attention was the heavy gate that filled the opening, now leaning askew, and the large plaque that stretched up the wall to its right. It was written in the language of the ancients; Zechs curiously tried to read it, but all he could make out were the words, _five, king, war,_ and_ sun_. It was a pity so much of the language had been lost.

Zechs was startled by a sudden sound. It was not loud, but deep - a sound like wind, like breath, as if some enormous creature had exhaled. Shaken, Zechs backed away from the gate and forced himself on. _'Get Treize's blasted proof and get OUT,'_ he told himself firmly. He did not hear the sound of that breath again.

Unfortunately, it was quite a while before he found what he was looking for. The old palace wasn't difficult to locate, but it had several treasure rooms, and almost all were hidden. Every minute he was wishing more and more strongly that he had someone, anyone, to keep him company; someone whose footsteps would echo beside his own, whose voice would fill this terrible, suffocating silence.

And then, when he opened the last door, he was suddenly desperately glad he had come down here alone after all.

Treize had been right, there was a Metal Man hidden in the Lost City. What he hadn't guessed was that there were _two_ of them.

Zechs circled around these marvels, these giants shaped like men, only made of metal; clearly they had never been alive. But they had been animate at one point, that was the important thing; Zechs could see the joint mechanisms, the ingenious way they were designed to mimic movement.

He reverently reached up to the face of the closest one. Zechs was a tall man, but even he had to stretch up on his toes to reach. He half-expected the empty, glassy eyes to come to life at his touch, but (thankfully) nothing happened.

Enough of this. Zechs reached for the thing's odd little chest plate, engraved with its name in the runes of Old Uesian. _Baruji_. He managed to detach it, but with some difficulty; and then he stared worriedly at the mass of strange tendrils growing out of the back, as if it was a man-made plant. He hoped he hadn't damaged it. Too late now, in any case; he carefully wrapped it in a soft cloth and put it in his bag.

Then he turned, almost greedily, to the larger and bulkier of the Metal Men. Its chest plate read "Libra," and Zechs had a much harder time getting it out. When it finally burst free, Zechs was quite alarmed to see a tiny, bright dot of light blinking on and off near the thing's neck. His fingers tingled hotly, as if they had been licked by a wyvern. But the sensation soon faded, and Libra did not move, so Zechs decided to just leave.

For many nights afterward his dreams were haunted by that spark of light, so uncanny in its brightness and regularity.

He did not retrace his steps exactly; he knew the general direction to get out, but there was no necessity to leave by the exact same path he had entered. Which is why he hadn't noticed the courtyard on the way in. He wished he had, because it was much easier to walk through; most of the debris was around the edges.

Including a humongous statue that looked somewhat out of place in this wasteland of dead riches.

Zechs, looking at the stone figure of a wyvern, wondered why it was carved to look so fierce if it had been meant for a town square. It was caught in a moment of breathing fire; the rocky flames arced across the courtyard in splendid detail, broken off a few feet out; its claws were spread rigidly; its eyes were squeezed almost shut in furious concentration. Zechs did not envy the children who had had to walk past that thing, when the city was still active and bustling.

Actually, it was much too big to be a wyvern; Zechs might have said it was a dragon from the shape, but it wasn't quite _that_ big. Very unusual, though.

In fact, too unusual. Zechs stepped over to it to get a closer look. The detail was remarkable, each scale was outlined perfectly - he even noticed, with astonished admiration, to see a few realistic touches, scales that had chipped or been knocked out of alignment.

"What a beauty," he murmured, laying his hands on it. "I wish you were alive, my friend; the Sanc Kingdom needs a guardian like y-"

Zechs suddenly jumped back. The stone under his hands had seemed to ripple and come to hot life. He watched in utter amazement as the dragon-thing flooded with color, shifted its great body, and completed its roar of flame across the square.

Zechs had been wrong, ludicrously wrong. This thing was no statue, carved out of stone by human hands. It had been born a live creature, imprisoned by some enchantment for all these years.

The dragon-thing growled low and deep, filling the whole place with echoes and causing the rocks to groan and shift ominously. "Stop that," Zechs called out sharply. "You want to make the roof collapse on us?"

Faster than Zechs would have thought possible for such a huge creature, the head swiveled his way and focused on him with terrifying attention. _"You!"_ a voice seemed to bellow in his head. Or...not so much a voice, as a pure thought, translated into words by Zechs's own brain rather than by the sender. _"You, you, YOU! At last you are here, and I am too angry to greet you properly!"_ It raised its head to roar at the ceiling. _"Where is she?! The little magic-woman who tried to enslave me?!"_

It took Zechs a minute to figure out what the dragon meant. "Magic-woman...a sorceress?" He looked around, and for the first time noticed an ancient pile of charred bones resting where the original flame would have ended. "That must be what is left of her. I suppose you must have killed her just before you were caught by her spell."

Snarling softly (which was of course still loud enough to echo in Zechs's bones), the dragon-thing lowered its head and snorted into the bone pile, scattering it to ash. _"Got her,"_ it thought/said in fierce satisfaction. _"Got her."_ Then it suddenly swung back to Zechs. _"How long ago?"_ it demanded.

Zechs's tone was cautious as he answered, "This city is maybe a few hundred years old. We don't know exactly."

The dragon-thing breathed out a black cloud of satisfied smoke. _"Good. Not too long, then."_

Zechs just barely kept his jaw from dropping.

_"And stop calling me 'dragon-thing'!"_ it suddenly snapped. _"I am no dragon. And no- NO WYVERN, EITHER! WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR, YOU TWO-LEGGED MEAT-CHOP!"_

Zechs could not help backing away from the dragon-th- the beast's sudden anger. "What _are_ you then?" he challenged, disgusted with the shakiness of his own voice.

The beast exhaled wrathfully again before answering, _"I am -"_ and Zechs suddenly bowed over, clutching his head in pain and only just able to keep from crying out. When he was able to look up again, the THING was eyeing him with something like disgust.

_"Fragile human. Listen with your little nub-ears, then."_ This time it emitted a croaking noise, as if it was trying to speak.

Zechs frowned. "Tallgeese?" he repeated, approximating the sound as best he could.

_"The last,"_ it agreed.

Zechs bowed in introduction. "I am Prince Milliard Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom." It never even occurred to him to give his false name.

_"I already know you, Peace-prince. Don't you know the prophecy?"_

Zechs was about to answer that he did not, when he suddenly remembered that plaque he had been unable to read.

_"What?! You humans go to all the trouble to make an eye-language, and you FORGET it?!"_

"We did not do it on purpose," Zechs pointed out. "Are you saying that I am mentioned in a prophecy?"

_"The Peace-prince who makes war, the Five, the return of the king who will lead us home...if you do not know this, then you have lost much."_

"Then tell me again."

_"No. Not now. It will take too long, and your minions are about to leave you for dead."_

_'The men,'_ Zechs realized. He had entered the Lost City about an hour after dawn; the day must be nearing its end now. He had to get back.

_"I will take you back,"_ Tallgeese said, almost slyly, and Zechs got the sense that it was relishing the thought of seeing his men dissolve into terror at the sight of it.

"All right," Zechs agreed. Tallgeese would make getting out of this place quicker, after all, and Zechs was not adverse to giving the Uesians a hard time. He climbed up Tallgeese's outstretched wing and settled on its shoulders. Then they were surging upwards, through one of the surface shafts and back into the late afternoon sunshine.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: You might note the first of my unintentional Narnia references in this fic. After I wrote that bit about Zechs waking the dragon, it suddenly reminded me of that scene in _The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_ where Aslan awakens the stone giant. I have loved Narnia since childhood, and its images are so ingrained in my subconscious that you'll see them leak out into my writing from time to time.


	4. Hero loses Relena

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 4 - In which Hero loses Relena (rough draft)**

He was having a horrible dream, that he'd just killed a little girl by accident, so he was more glad than annoyed to be shaken awake by the princess.

"Hero! _Hero!_ This dragon of yours is getting close to the ground very fast!" The note of panic in her voice alarmed him, but when he shot upright and looked around, he saw nothing amiss.

Except for one, rather important thing. "Wing," he growled, "does this look like the mountains to you?" The dragon only snorted. "Wing! We need to go to the _mountains_. What are you doing back at the desert?!"

Sure enough, a sea of sand stretched away as far as the eye could see, while at its edge sat a sprawling city, surrounded by an outgrowth of houses and scraggly farms. It was still far off, but they were approaching quickly, and Hero knew that Wing would have to either turn around or land soon if he didn't want to be seen.

He fell back with a grown, knowing that Wing was too stubborn to change whatever stupid plan he was nursing. The young man rubbed his hands over his face, wishing the princess wouldn't keep making those little noises of distress.

"He's going to crash, we're going too fast, Hero, are you seeing this?! Make him slow down!"

"Wing has been flying since long before your grandparents were born. He knows what he's doing."

Wing finally settled down on the ground, tucking his legs under him as if he intended to stay put for a good, long time. Relena looked nervously at Hero, but he didn't move. It was time to show this dragon who was boss. "Wing, I am giving you to the count of ten to get back in the air on a course for Peacemillion."

The dragon slowly turned his head. Hero recognized the dangerous spark in his eyes just as the great mouth was opening.

Immediately Hero grabbed the princess in his arms and dove onto the expectantly outstretched wing, protecting her as best he could as they rolled down it. The blast of Wing's fiery breath just missed them, flaming along the bright scales and devouring everything in its path.

The dragon then turned his head and seemed to smirk down at Hero, who glared at the incinerated remains of his travel pack scattered in black streaks across Wing's back. "Don't think you've won," Hero answered sourly, then turned and tramped in the direction of the city.

_'I nearly died,'_ Relena was thinking, over and over again, when she suddenly realized that Hero was leaving her. "Hero!" she cried, and ran after him. "Where are you going?"

"Might as well stock up on supplies while we're here," he mumbled. Now that they _had_ no supplies. "You don't have to come. It's a long walk."

"And stay behind with the creature that tried to kill me?" she said hotly. "I don't think so."

He shrugged. "Have it your way. But I'm not waiting for you."

o.o.o.o.o

In fact he did have to wait for her, and slow his pace for her, and even (near the end) carry her on his back. The distance was just too great without a horse, and not many people, much less a pampered princess, could have matched the young assassin's pace.

He wanted to reach the city of Barandeh before dark, which was not going to happen if he took the princess back to Wing. And despite his words, he really couldn't leave the girl wandering around in the middle of nowhere, especially with night coming on.

So her giggle really irritated him. "Sorry you had to wait for me after all." No answer. "Am I too heavy?" Nothing. She sighed and absently tried to run her fingers through his tangled hair. "I wish I had a comb. You need it."

"Stop touching my hair," he growled.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine. You _are_ my kidnapper; I suppose it doesn't really matter whether or not you're properly groomed."

"It's not like I _wanted_ to do this," he muttered, almost to himself.

Relena hesitated. Then she asked that question he had refused to answer, in the first terrifying hour when he had carried her away. "Hero," she said softly. "Why did you take me?" Before, she had been panicked, demanding. Now she sounded simply curious, and almost...compassionate.

But he very well couldn't answer, _"Because a fairy told me to,"_ so again, he said nothing.

They were very close when he realized that he couldn't let the princess enter the city in the clothes she was currently wearing. His completely black outfit would already stand out in this desert city, but if anyone here had already received word of the princess's disappearance, her ruined but recognizably fine clothes might raise suspicion. So he abruptly halted, shrugged her off his back, and ordered her to strip.

She slapped him.

Hero stood there for a moment, wondering why he had allowed himself to be struck, then realized it was because he had COMPLETELY NOT EXPECTED a pampered girl like the princess to raise a hand against him.

Why had she slapped him, anyway? Oh. Perhaps she felt uncomfortable at the thought of him seeing her unclothed.

"I didn't mean get naked," he finally said, once he had processed these thoughts. "Take off that dress; you'll be recognized."

After a pause, as she processed this herself, she gathered enough of her wits to retort, "Did it ever occur to you that I might _want_ to be recognized?"

Hero realized, with a sinking heart, that he was going to have to get the dress off her against her will. Resigning himself quickly, he was just reaching for her when she hurriedly stepped back. "What are you doing?!"

"That dress is coming off right now," he said brusquely.

"I am _not_ going to parade around in my underwear, you pervert!"

"You can wear my cloak," he offered impatiently. "_You_ were the one who refused to stay with Wing. So get undressed."

Her face reddened. "Not when you're watching. Go away!"

Rolling his eyes, he pulled off his cloak and handed it to her, then waited while she changed in someone's outhouse. When she came out, self-consciously gripping the cloak tightly around herself, he studied her critically. "Your underclothes are made of silk," he finally said.

"Who's going to notice my _hems_?" she said in exasperation.

"I would," he pointed out.

She groaned and reached down to knot up her underskirts so that they wouldn't show beneath the hem of the cloak. Then she straightened and glared at him. "Anything else?"

Without speaking, he pulled a length of cord out of one of his pockets and came toward her. Thinking wildly that he was going to strangle her or something, she ducked away from his grasp, and it was only after a brief struggle that he finally got her to hold still enough so he could tie up her hair. The people of Barandeh would certainly recognize her as a foreigner from only one glance at those long, fair locks.

"You could have _warned_ me!" she said indignantly when he let her go.

He only looked at her.

"A girl doesn't like it when a guy who _kidnapped_ her suddenly comes toward her with a rope."

For a while he didn't answer. Perhaps she was right. "I'm going to put the hood over your head," he finally warned her.

"You're...what?"

He took hold of the hood and pulled it over her hair; this way it would hide her blue eyes, too.

"It's hot," she complained.

"Keep the hood up until I can find a better cloak for you."

She opened her mouth to reply, then stopped as she thought about that. Why did she get the sense that he was trying to take care of her as best he could? She didn't like the fact that Hero refused to fit into the villain's role she kept seeing him in. The picture of a frustrated young man with a burden too big for him just didn't _fit_.

"How old are you?" she asked curiously, following this train of thought.

However he had not been following it, so he didn't bother to answer such a random question. Instead, he turned his attention to the discarded dress she had brought out with her. "Hey, what are you...?" Relena started to ask, when she saw him pull out a knife. Then, "HEY!" when he began using it to pry loose the jewels that had been sewn into it.

"The dress is dangerous, but we can use the money."

"You mean _I_ can use the money. Those belong to me!" It made no difference to Hero, who did not protest when Relena snatched up the jewels as he freed them one by one. When he had finished, he rolled the dress up tight and buried it.

"Are you finished?" Relena asked in annoyance. "Can we go now?"

Again he didn't bother to answer, simply stalking ahead once more.

They were just barely able to reach the city gates on time. Trudging past the guards, trying to look like ordinary travelers of little interest, Hero kept a tense eye on his companion, making sure her head stayed down and there was no glimpse of her fair hair showing. The two of them were pushed about in the busy streets, knocking into each other, or other objects and people, several times.

"Is it usually this crowded?" Relena complained. "Even back home it wasn't like this."

"Wasn't like this last time I was here, either," Hero mumbled. "Maybe something's going on. Come on, we need to find a money-changer before it gets too late." He grabbed Relena's hand so he could drag her along more easily and not have to worry about losing her in the crowd. They found a place to exchange one of the jewels for coin only just in time; the man had actually started packing up for the night before they hurried up to him. The next order of business was an inn, but one place after another turned them away, saying they were full.

"It's like the story in the Holy Book," Relena said dryly, almost amused despite her tired feet. _"And there was no room for them at the inn."_

Hero, who had no idea what she was talking about, simply marched on to the next establishment.

"No vacancies," the proprietor said at once, eyeing Hero's foreign looks with distaste. "And there's not going to be room anywhere else, either - the whole city's been booked up for months now."

"Why is that?" Relena finally burst out. "Is there something special going on?"

The innkeeper stared at her as if she was an idiot. "You have traveled all the way to Barandeh, and do not know that it is the sultan's birthday tomorrow?"

"I take it that's a big deal around here," Relena said with a sinking heart.

"A big deal! The streets will flow with wine and gold, the feasting will be so lavish that even the slaves and beggars will have their fill, and people have come from all over the land to pay their respects to the exalted one! And the woman says only, 'It's a big deal!'"

Hero squeezed Relena's hand hard in warning. She frowned and tried to wrench her hand free; it didn't work. "Fine," she said. "Let us sleep in your stable, then. We will pay full price for a room."

The innkeeper burst out laughing. "The stable was booked up weeks ago!"

_"What?!"_

"Let's go," Hero finally said, dragging her away.

"And where are we supposed to go, Hero?! There's nowhere for us!"

"We can't be the only ones in this position. The stragglers will be sleeping in the square tonight."

Which suddenly reminded Relena of another, much less pleasant story from the Holy Book. She dug in her heels and dragged Hero to a halt. "I'm not sleeping in the square."

"You don't have a choice."

"Hero," she pleaded, "please, keep me safe."

He looked at her in annoyance. "You're in my charge. Nothing and no one can get to you except through me."

Which was, very strangely, quite reassuring. "You're not going to sleep," she commanded anxiously. "You're going to stand up all night, weapons drawn, glaring your face off, guarding me. Okay?"

"I'm not letting anyone near you," was all he would say, impatient with her theatrics.

After settling down with both cloaks wrapped around her, watching Hero watch out for her, it took Relena a very long time to fall asleep. Again.

o.o.o.o.o

Barandeh, unsurprisingly, was hot as blazes once the sun rose, and the crowds did not make it any better.

"Hero. I'm _wilting_. Can I _please_ wait somewhere cool while you finish your errands?"

"I'm not an idiot."

"But I'm not going to run away!" she pleaded. "Really, I just want to rest somewhere! You won't be long, right? You just need to pick up some food and stuff, and then we can leave?"

No answer. Again.

"You're so boring!" she shouted at him, pent-up anger suddenly bursting out of her. "You're like a rock! You're just a shrimpy thug! You're not the boss of me! Let me GO!"

"Shut up," he hissed, jerking on her wrist. "You're attracting attention."

"Maybe I _want_ to attract attention!" Then an idea occurred to her. "HELP! HELP! He's kidnapping me!"

The people surrounding them, nearly all from a culture in which women were mere property, either laughed or paid no attention.

"Argh!"

Hero suddenly turned, shoved her against a wall, leaned his face very close to hers, and hissed, "For the last time, shut up. I don't want to hurt you, but I will."

She stared back at him, fear and fury warring in her heart. "Maybe I'll hurt you _back_."

He only rolled his eyes, which infuriated her all the more since she knew he was right; she had no hope of hurting him. "Are you done making a scene, or do I have to knock you out?"

She jerked free and continued walking, her teeth clenched together. Hero had bought her new clothes, including a sort of body-wrap which covered even her head and the lower half of her face. It was a style that blended in well, since many women were wearing the same, but Relena felt stifled. Not just physically, either...she felt like she was being hidden away, erased from existence - not only torn from her home, but forced to go unrecognized. Tears came to her eyes as she thought, _'No one is going to find me. No one is going to take me home.'_ The tears came spilling down her cheeks, and she didn't know whether to laugh or get annoyed when she noticed Hero shooting her wary glances.

"Aw, don't cry, pretty lady!"

Relena came to a surprised halt. A little girl had bounced up to her, and was now holding up a flower. "This is for you! Come see our spectacular show! That'll dry your eyes in no time!"

Touched, Relena was just reaching to take the flower when Hero pulled her away. "Not interested."

Relena planted her feet and pulled back. "Don't speak for me! What if _I'm_ interested, you lout?"

"We don't have time."

"And what, exactly, is our deadline?" she challenged.

"I didn't come here to haul you around!" he suddenly burst out. "I came here to complete a mission, and instead I find myself flying all over the country, wasting time! Let's just get this done and get _out_ of here!"

Relena turned away, leaned down to the child, and smiled brightly. "Sweetheart, I would _love_ to see your show. Please lead the way."

The little girl, who had unusually fair skin and wide blue eyes, gave her a cautious smile. "Sure, lady. Your boyfriend's not gonna hurt you or anything if you come, is he?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" Relena snapped, then gasped, "I'm so sorry, darling. He's simply an annoying acquaintance, that's all."

"You're not watching some show, Relena."

_'Try and stop me,'_ she thought, and let the little girl lead her away. She felt Hero trailing her unhappily, oozing surliness, which was rather fun to ignore.

A knot of people had gathered around the street-performer, who looked as foreign as the little girl; a long brown braid swung down to his waist, and bright blue eyes twinkling in his laughing face. "...and for my next trick, ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to need an assistant from my fine audience here? Any takers?"

"Me!" the little girl cried at once, bounding up to him. "I'm here!"

"_Excellent_," he said, beaming as he reached down to pat her head. "Little Hilde here has been working so hard today, I think she ought to get a treat, don't you?" As he spoke, a little cake appeared with a twist of his fingers, seemingly out of the little girl's ear; she laughed and reached for it, then suddenly flung it into the air, where it scattered as a flock of snowy white birds. The crowd rustled and murmured, showing only the mildest interest; their own magicians considered such acts as children's tricks.

"Ooh, we've got a tough crowd today, Hilde-chan," the performer laughed.

"Show 'em the gold one, Duo-nii!"

The mention of money sparked the crowd's interest.

"Hm...shall we give it a try then? All right, but it's going to require a bit of participation from eeeevery one of you." He swept his finger out across the crowd, winking conspiratorially. "See, the way this one works is a bit of give and take...you feed my little friend here," (he glanced down at a floppy hat on the ground, which contained a few coins, and nudged it meaningfully with his foot) "and see what shiny things show up in your pockets."

The crowd rustled uneasily. Was this a trick?

Relena looked at the magician, who looked as if he was about her age; she took in the threadbare fabric of his shirt, the faded colors on the little girl's clothing, and the little hollows in their otherwise handsome faces, as if they did not get enough to eat. She drew a few coins from her purse and dropped them into the hat, ignoring the little sounds of annoyance Hero was making behind her.

Duo's eyes widened at the sight of the gold coins (he had no idea she had plenty more where that came from), and Hilde gaped openly. Then Relena frowned as she noticed that her money purse was suddenly heavier than before. Peering into it, she exclaimed in surprise, "Now where did all this money come from? I could have sworn I didn't have _that_ much..."

There was a sudden rush for the hat, as heaps of coins were tossed into it; then exclamations of delight as money-purses grew fat and heavy.

"Thank you!" Duo called out, beaming. "Thank you, my dear ladies and gentlemen! Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get Hilde-chan some breakfast...glorious day, isn't it!" Within moments, he had whisked his things together and disappeared around a corner with Hilde in tow.

"What a magician!" someone was saying admiringly. "I've never seen a trick like that before!"

"We've got to get him back," someone else said greedily. "I've got to give him, more, much more; then I'll have...I'll have..." He was now staring into his purse with dismay and growing fury. The crowd around him became angry as everyone realized that the gold they had magically received had transformed into nothing but dead leaves.

"Find him!" they shouted. "Cut off his thieving hands! Make him pay!" Then they were off, charging after the magician, who was of course nowhere to be found.

"Idiots," Hero remarked. "Even _you_ could have seen through that one," he said to the princess. When she did not answer, he frowned and turned to look at her - which was quite impossible, since she was gone.

o.o.o.o.o

Relena's heart hammered in her chest as she shoved her way through the crowded streets, certain that the assassin was right on her heels and about to grab her. "Stay away," she gasped, as if addressing him, "Stay away from me...please let me go..." And then it was like she hit a wall of people. No one was moving forward; they seemed to be standing, waiting, talking so loudly she could barely hear herself think. Panicked, Relena whirled around, but her frantic eyes caught no sight of Hero. They caught no sign of an escape route, either.

Then the crowd surged, shoving her to the side; a sort of pathway was opening up in the center of the road, and the sound of trumpets was heard in the distance. It felt like ages to Relena, crushed in the midst of the crowd, waiting for who knew what; but then the first members of the procession passed by, and Relena forgot to be frightened or impatient. Musicians, dancing girls, exotic animals, men who threw out handfuls of money to the crowd...Relena had never seen the like, and it captured her full attention. She was so busy staring at the sight, that she almost missed the fact that the sultan himself was passing, a rather large man borne along in a lavish litter, carried on the shoulders of four slaves. He lifted one pudgy hand to wave lazily at the crowd, surrounded by guards on horseback. Relena was staring at him, her hood thrown back around her shoulders, and was completely unprepared when their eyes met.

The result was electrifying. The sultan abruptly froze, then sat up so quickly that the slaves carrying him stumbled. He raised his hand and called out in a commanding voice, some foreign garble of which Relena didn't understand a word. Then, to her horror, she saw that hundreds of eyes were suddenly focused on her; people where shoving to get away from her, leaving her in a little empty place; and one of the guards had clopped his way to her side and leaned down to seize her by the shoulder.

_"Beeyah bauman,"_ he ordered shortly.

"Wh-What?" she gasped.

_"Beeyah!"_

"I-I don't understand," she tried to say, though she thought she understood quite well.

Then someone else was riding up, a young man too finely dressed to be a guard. His pale yellow hair and light eyes were quite at odds with the dark faces around him, and he smiled so kindly at her that Relena forgot to be afraid. "My father is asking you to come with us," he said in her own language.

"What!" Relena cried, alarm rising up into her voice again. "I-I can't, I..."

The sultan was saying something again, and the young man listened for a moment before turning back to Relena. "He asks if you are married."

"I...n-no, but-"

_"Eeshoon neastan, Pehdahr,"_ the young man called back.

_"Pàss beeyarehshoon eenja!"_

The boy turned back to her and shrugged. "Please come, miss. Don't worry, we'll send a message to your family once we get back to the palace."

And for the second time, Relena found herself being carried away against her will. She was suddenly wishing very much to be back with Hero.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: The scene where the sultan calls Relena out of the crowd was most likely subconsciously based on a similar scene from C.S. Lewis's _Narnia_, my absolute favorite books. (It's in _The Horse and His Boy_, when the Narnian royals who are visiting Tashbaan see Shasta and pull him out of the crowd.) Again, it's not intentional, but I think it's different enough to where it falls more into the "homage" category rather than "rip-off."

The online Arabic-English dictionaries I found are useless. "Barandeh" is the Persian word for "Winner."

Translations of the Persian phrases:

_"Beeyah bauman"_ - "Come with me."

_"Eeshoon neastan, Pehdahr."_ - "She is not, Father."

_"Pàss beeyarehshoon eenja."_ - "Then bring her here!"

And yes, I'm going to make the Winners Iranian instead of Arabic, because I very handily have a native Persian-speaker in my household. Sorry if the spelling isn't standardized.


	5. The Five accidentally convene

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 5 - In which the Five (and their dragons) accidentally convene (rough draft)**

Prince Quatre glanced uneasily down at the foreign girl. She looked so upset... Quatre thought he could understand a young girl's nervousness at leaving her home in order to enter the house of a much older husband. However, she had been picked by the sultan himself. The women of this country would have done anything to be in her place.

Then again...she was not one of the women of this country, despite her clothing. She could barely even speak the language, so it was a good guess she was unfamiliar with the customs here.

He thought a moment, then slipped down from his horse. It would not be proper for her to ride in the same saddle as him, or for her to ride while he, a prince, walked. But they could walk together, and so they did, with Quatre leading the horse.

"I never had a chance to introduce myself. My name is Quatre Raberba Winner. It truly is a pleasure to meet you, miss."

She eyed him warily, then mumbled, "You can call me Lena." If the sultan wanted to marry her because she was a princess (though how could he have known?), it would be best to keep her real name secret for now.

"Lena," he said encouragingly, "That's such a pretty name. Where are you from, Lena?"

She squirmed. "From the Sanc Kingdom," she admitted.

Quatre's eyes widened. "The Sanc Kingdom? How odd...it was only just this morning that Master Chang told us about the invasion."

Relena's eyes immediately snapped to his. "What?" she demanded.

Quatre in turn seemed surprised at the strength of her reaction. "The Sanc Kingdom was conquered by Uesa. Its royal family are all dead or missing, and-" Quatre suddenly realized that he shouldn't be telling an already-distressed girl that her country had been overrun. "Perhaps it's just rumors," he said quickly, trying to soothe her increasingly horrified look. "Master Chang has never trusted the reliability of those new message-spells anyway. He says it was much more reliable to stick with-"

Relena seized the front of his vest. "Which of the royal family are dead?" she asked frantically.

Quatre was just opening his mouth to say he didn't know, when the edge of a sword suddenly threatened Relena's lovely neck.

_"Get your hands off the prince,"_ the guard ordered.

"Um," Quatre said uncomfortably. "They want you to let go."

"Not 'til you answer me," Relena snarled. "My father - is he alive? My mother, and my brother! What happened to them?!"

Quatre gaped at her. "Lena..._Relena_..." He shoved the sword away from her and tugged his horse forward. "My lady, please mount," he said politely. "A princess shouldn't have to walk."

o.o.o.o.o

_'Idiot, stupid, moron, baka...'_ The words chanted relentlessly through Hero's head as he made his way through the crowds. He'd grown too careless. He should never have let the girl come with him. He should have made her stay with Wing and-

"Try this, Hilde-chan; it's the best part!"

"Duo-nii...it's burned."

"It's not burned," Duo insisted, shoving the jagged-edged piece of crunchy rice in Hilde's face as they walked away from the food vendor. "They call it _tadig_. It's good stuff!"

"_You_ eat it, then."

"I most certainly will! But not until you've at least tried a-" Duo suddenly felt a rough hand grab him by the shirt-collar.

"You," Hero growled in his face.

"Let go of him!" Hilde shrieked, beating at the assassin with her little fists; but it was a simple matter for him to hold her at a distance and maintain his grip on the thieving magician.

"I'll pay you back!" Duo cried at once. "Every penny, and some extra!"

"What are you talking about?" Hero said in confusion.

Duo blinked. "You mean I _didn't_ steal money from you?"

"No," Hero said impatiently. "Oi, you're a mage, right?"

"How _dare_ you, sir!" Duo cried, as if highly offended.

"No mere street performer can handle fairy gold. I need you to find someone for me."

Duo dropped the fake indignation, and his eyes went shifty. "Mages don't work for free, you know," he said cautiously. "Not that I'm admitting I _am_ one, mind you."

Hero pulled the coins out of his pocket and looked at them, knowing it would not be enough.

"Nope," Duo said at once, "definitely not a magic-user. Good day!" He tried to sidle out of Hero's grasp, but the assassin only gripped him harder. "She's got all the money. Find her, and you'll get your fee."

"Don't make me laugh!" Duo laughed. "Why should I trust you?"

"Because I'll kill you if you don't," Hero snarled.

"...Good reason," Duo admitted.

o.o.o.o.o

_'I am in a harem,'_ Relena thought, afraid she was about to faint. _'They're going to enslave me to a fat foreigner who doesn't even speak my language, and...and...!'_

It was a beautiful place, with huge open patios, the rooms filled with sumptuous furniture and vases of flowers and breathtaking art - and women, seemingly _everywhere_. Five of them were fluttering around Relena now, dressing her in strange, beautiful clothes and putting up her hair and applying makeup to her face. They chattered like a noisy flock of birds, and Relena didn't understand a word. What she _could_ understand were the scornful grins and gleeful whispers and bursts of laughter.

Relena's face burned. Even camped in the middle of nowhere with only a surly assassin for company, she had never felt so alone.

When they called for her, Relena's heart leapt into her throat. She couldn't help resisting when she was grasped by the arms and pulled along, but it was only Prince Quatre waiting for her in the corridor outside. Relena nearly sagged in relief.

He tried to smile encouragingly. "It's not quite proper, but I've asked Father to let you enjoy the banquet before your wedding night." (Relena shuddered.) "I thought you might enjoy that better than being cooped up here for hours."

"Thank you," she muttered. She could tell he was trying to be nice, but it wasn't improving her mood at _all_.

The banquet hall was as lavish as the rest of the palace, and filled with merry people in colorful clothes, lounging comfortably on pillows as they ate, all seeming to talk at the tops of their voices as musicians cheerfully competed to be heard. At Relena's entrance, those nearest turned to stare interestedly, chattering to each other as if commenting on Relena's every feature.

"I fell so conspicuous," she whispered uncomfortably to Quatre.

Quatre smiled and murmured back, "That's because you _are_ conspicuous. It's not often they see foreigners - and on top of that, you are very beautiful, and soon to be my father's newest wife."

_'We'll see about that,'_ Relena thought, though all she said out loud was, "How can the sultan be your father? You look more like _me_ than him."

"My mother was from the New World," Quatre started to explain, but was unable to elaborate. By that time they had reached the sultan, and were suddenly busy bowing (Quatre had to guide her in the correct form) and finding places to sit.

Relena ate what was put in front of her, too preoccupied to really care whether she liked it or not. Quatre would offer dishes of food, and she would feign delight at the taste; sometimes the sultan would insist on putting bite-sized pieces of food directly into her mouth, and commanding her to do the same for him.

At one point, Quatre asked in concern, "Princess, you don't like the sherbet?"

Relena had been trying to come up with a way to sneak a message out to Hero. "Huh? Oh. Um, no, it's delicious! Mmmm!" Now that she was actually paying attention, the dessert was like sweet, creamy ice sliding down her throat, and despite herself, she eagerly dipped up another spoonful.

By this time, empty dishes were being cleared away and the real entertainment was beginning. A troupe of brunette performers took the floor, setting up for a knife-throwing act.

"There certainly are a lot of foreigners hanging around Barandeh tonight," a voice said musingly just above Relena's head. She jumped and looked up to find a young man about her age, standing very close to her as he gazed suspiciously out at the performers.

_'You're one to talk,'_ she thought. She had once seen an ambassador who looked like him, with his raven-black hair pulled tightly back, fairer skin than the complexions around him, and dark eyes that resembled Hero's in shape, though not color.

Quatre laughed. "People have come from many lands today, Master Chang. It is not surprising to see a more varied mix than usual."

"I don't like it," the boy called Master Chang muttered. "This is beginning to look too much like the prophecy in the dragon-writings..."

"Master Chang, I'm sure any event can be found echoed in some book or another," Quatre assured him. "Princess, please allow me to introduce you to Master Chang Wufei, a scholar in the employ of my father. Master Chang, I present to you Princess Relena Peacecraft."

"How do you do?" Relena said politely.

"Peacecraft," he repeated. "Is it safe to assume you have a brother?" he asked, looking as if he was bracing himself for bad news.

Relena frowned at his rudeness. "I do, in fact. Why?"

Wufei cursed, much to her shock. "I have to go look something up," he muttered, and walked away.

Quatre laughed again when he saw her staring indignantly after Wufei. "Please excuse him, princess. He can be eccentric."

"That's no excuse for rudeness," she huffed, leaning back to watch the knife-thrower. She was a pretty girl with sparkling eyes who grinned at Relena before turning to flourish her knives at her victim. The young man, despite his ridiculous getup and half-mask, simply gazed calmly from where he stood shackled to a painted board.

"Come on, Trowa," the knife-thrower laughed, "this isn't fun at all. Look a little scared, why don't you!"

The young man called Trowa did not answer, his expression reminding Relena a little of Hero's.

"Spoilsport," the young woman huffed, and threw her first handful of knives. Relena couldn't help gasping, and her hands flew to her mouth as blade after blade was flung at the poor boy. Yet he never flinched or blinked each time a weapon thudded into the wood so close to his flesh; even when one knife landed too close and a trickle of blood stained his face, his expression never changed, though his female companion seemed shaken.

It made no difference to the audience, which cheered and called for more. Relena, hands still pressed over her mouth, stole a glance at Quatre, who was looking thoughtfully at the garishly-dressed young man. "He's...brave, isn't he?" Relena remarked haltingly, not knowing the words for what she really wanted to say.

"I think...that may be the wrong word," Quatre murmured, looking troubled. "But yes, quite impressive."

The next performer to take the floor elicited a gasp of recognition from Relena. "That's-!"

"Do you know him, princess?" Quatre asked.

"Um...no, I don't," Relena lied, her eyes fixed desperately on the braided, grinning magician as if he could save her. She tried to catch his eye, hoping she could maybe send him a silent message from the force of willpower alone, but it was almost as if he was deliberately avoiding her gaze.

"Thank you very much, thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen!" he called out in a jolly manner. "If I may direct your attention to this flower here in my hand...oh, whoops, guess I left my flower at home; this little doll, then! Oops, watch your heads." As he spoke, the thing seemed to shift in his hands; whatever he was holding had now become a bird, which flapped swiftly around the room before dissolving in a shower of glitter that, when bits of it landed on Relena's mouth, she discovered to be some kind of candy. She could not tell if it was simply a magician's trick or a work of real magic.

"Master Chang," Quatre laughed as the young man came stalking back to them. "You're missing the fun!"

"Breaks my heart," Wufei muttered, collapsing gracefully onto a pillow next to Relena and reaching for some food.

"Now then!" Duo called out cheerfully, "My next trick requires a volunteer from the audience; a lady in particular. Perhaps...ah! What a perfect choice!" he exclaimed when his eyes (finally) fell on Relena. "My lady!" he said grandly, extending a hand to her, "If you would be so kind?"

Relena would have loved nothing better, but she shot a nervous glance at the sultan - who looked displeased. He grasped Relena's arm and said something gruff to the magician.

"My father commands that you choose another woman for your volunteer," Quatre translated.

"Um," Duo responded. He could not very well insist without looking suspicious.

Relena, already in a heap at the sultan's feet, arranged herself more gracefully and clasped her hands together beseechingly. "I beg of you, my lord," she pleaded, though with a charming smile to offset her desperation. "Might you in your bounty permit me this small indulgence? The magician does amuse me so, it would please your bride greatly to see such a trick firsthand."

Duo's eyes widened a bit in surprised admiration.

"It is not...proper for a man such as him to touch the bride-to-be of the sultan," Quatre translated uncomfortably.

"Well," Relena said slowly, "then why don't you chaperone?"

"I am afraid I do not know this word 'chaperone,' princess."

"Means you get to be part of the act," Duo put in cheerfully, seizing his shoulder and dragging him up, beckoning to Relena to follow. She did so, her shoulders tensed in dreaded anticipation, but the sultan made no protest other than low grumblings.

"Now then!" Duo said, arranging his two volunteers in poses he made up on the spot. "I shall now, with my great and amazing powers, turn this lovely lady and her...way-too-lovely-to-be-a-guy companion, invisible! Abracadabra, blahooey mancala shimoobash!" He waved his arms theatrically and tossed a cloud of colored dust in the air, simultaneously working the translocation spell.

A few seconds later, he blinked when he realized that everyone was still staring at them, and that they were still standing in the banquet hall. A drop of cold sweat trickled down his spine. "Ahaha...let's try that again. Bippity-boppity-boo!" The grin seemed rather fixed in place by this time, and the gesturing rather forced as he tried the trick again.

"Are you having trouble?" the prince wondered.

"Er, no! No, not at all, my good man!" Duo chortled, all the while silently planning to blast that idiot assassin if they ever met again. There was nothing for it but a quick getaway - except that he couldn't translocate _himself_, either. What was going on?!

"Excuse me, sir!" And here came Hilde, dancing charmingly up to the dais, to Duo's dismay.

"Hilde!" he hissed. "You're not supposed to be here!"

Ignoring him, the little girl twinkled up to Wufei, who eyed her warily. "Hello, sir!"

"...What do you want?"

"If you please, sir! That staff of yours seems to be blocking my master's magic. If you would be so kind as to allow me to relieve you of it - only temporarily, of course!" she said, looking so adorable that only Wufei could have resisted.

_'It is, too,'_ Duo realized, exasperated with himself and simultaneously quite pleased with his little adopted sister. The uptight-looking guy had a staff lying on the floor next to him that Duo could now see was made of yew, a wood that was resistant to magic. "Brilliant, young one!" he called out to her, and laughed when she winked at him as she carried the staff away.

His magic now free, Duo pulled off the 'invisible' trick with renewed confidence, though, after several seconds passed and neither the magician nor the princess nor the prince re-appeared, the banquet hall slowly swelled into uproar. _"Find them!"_ the sultan ordered. _"And when my son and bride have been recovered, that mage will lose his head."_

Of course, neither Duo nor Hilde were anywhere to be found. Amidst the chaos, Wufei quietly finished his tea, got up, and left the banquet hall to recover his staff.

o.o.o.o.o

Relena was disoriented when she suddenly found herself standing in a garden. She had just enough time to notice Duo let go of Quatre with a cheery, "Good night, Your Highness!" before the world blurred again and they were suddenly standing in a darkened street.

"Run," Duo told her, and proceeded to do so himself, dragging her as he went.

"Wait...wait," she tried to gasp, still disoriented; but he wouldn't stop.

"We're kind of in a hurry, in case you hadn't noticed," he said irritably. "We need to get out of the city."

"Just let me catch my _breath_!" Relena insisted, jerking back. She was getting really, really sick of being yanked around by these people. "You can translocate, can't you?"

"Yeah- and use up even _more_ magic, and collapse on the outskirts of Barandeh, where the guards will find my unconscious body and detach vital parts from it. Sorry, princess, but we're hoofing it."

"Why did you rescue me?" she wanted to know, when she reluctantly resumed running. "How did you _know_?"

"Your boyfriend hired me." He came to a sudden halt, which distracted Relena from protesting his insulting assumption. "Which reminds me! You've got-" Then he shook his head. "Never mind. Later." And off they went again.

o.o.o.o.o

He would have died rather than admit it, but Hero had never been more nervous in his life. Wing, under cover of darkness, had approached and was now waiting just outside the city; it was Wing's enormous companions that had shocked Hero upon their arrival, and whose presence (not to mention existence) he was still attempting to get used to.

It did not help matters when a soft voice suddenly came out of the darkness. "And who might you be, dragon rider?"

In an instant, Hero's knife was out and pressed to the throat of the intruder, who gazed calmly at him with green eyes. Hero felt a knife pressed against his own belly, and cursed at the stalemate. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I believe I asked first."

"I have no name," Hero grunted. "What you _really_ need to be asking is which dragon I plan to feed you to."

"I doubt Heavyarms would take kindly to that," was the reply, and Hero froze. Very slowly, he looked over his shoulder to find a huge red-gold head hovering near his own, turned at an angle from which to most conveniently glare at him out of an enormous orange eye.

"I see," Hero realized. He moved back very cautiously, and the dragon called Heavyarms stepped behind its partner and laid its tail between him and Hero.

"I'm all right," Trowa said, patting the red-gold scales soothingly. Hero looked at Heavyarms, then at the other dragons. Was it possible that they were _all_ partnered with humans? He had thought he was the only one.

His thoughts were interrupted by a strange, far-off whirring noise - it captured the dragons' attention as well, for all five suddenly perked up their ears and looked in the same direction. In the next minute the strangest contraption Hero had ever seen came rapidly approaching - it was like a small wagon made of wood and metal, and it came rolling along under its own power, pulled neither by horses nor people.

It came to a halt at a discreet distance, and one of the three figures inside instantly jumped out. "Hero-nii!" the little girl cried as she ran up and latched her arms around his waist. "I didn't lead 'em here, honest! They heard the dragons!"

"Fine. Get off me. And don't call me that." He pushed at her uncomfortably, but she grinned and squeezed him harder.

Back in the horseless wagon, Quatre and Wufei had their heads tipped back, eyes wide as they stared.

Hilde laughed at their amazed expressions. "Whatcha staring at? They're only dragons!" she said mischievously.

"Yes," Quatre breathed. "Five of them! I thought Sandrock was the only one." At which Wufei suddenly gave him a sharp look. Quatre didn't notice, because one of the females had lumbered over to him. She dipped her head to snuff happily into his golden hair, and he smiled and reached up a hand to pat her affectionately on the nose. "So this is what you were so excited about earlier. I should have guessed."

"He already had a dragon," Hilde pouted.

"Yes," Wufei murmured, frowning unhappily. "Now the prophecy will certainly be fulfilled soon. It's partly your fault, you know," he told the blue creature that was lying on its side, regarding him through half-closed lids. "You could at least have _told_ me there were five of you."

"What kind of magic is that?" Trowa asked Wufei, nodding to the wagon.

"Steam," Wufei grunted. "I mean, it's not magic."

Before Trowa could inquire further, there was a sudden whoosh of displaced air as Duo and Relena materialized among them. At once he turned to her and thundered, "Are you crazy, woman?! Did that _look_ like a guard to you? Don't ever scream in my ear like that again!"

"But he had a sword!" Relena whined.

"It was a _knife_, and he was only a mugger!" he said in exasperation. "I could have handled him, but now I won't have enough magic to even conjure a _bootlace_ 'til tomorrow!" He turned his back on her in a huff, then froze mid-stride. "What are you _doing_?" he said in astonishment.

Deathscythe perked her ears and looked at him. She had the tip of Wing's tail in her mouth, which she appeared to be attempting to insert into one of the other dragon's ears. Wing was huddled up miserably, his ears occasionally giving a violent twitch.

"Where did you _find_ these guys?!" Duo continued, spinning slowly on the spot to take in the handful of dragons lounging outside the walls of Barandeh. It was a rather comical sight, since Relena was doing the same.

She immediately stopped when she saw the prince. "You!" she gasped, and ran to hide behind Hero. "How did you find us?! How did you get here so fast?!"

Quatre smiled a little and nodded at his companion. "Master Chang here is quite resourceful."

"He has a magic wagon!" Hilde piped up excitedly.

"It's not magic," Wufei insisted. "And what did you think you were doing, little girl, running off with my staff? Or _you_," he now addressed Duo, "kidnapping the heir to Barandeh?"

"I didn't kidnap him!"

"No," Quatre said comfortably. "You simply whisked me - and my father's bride - out from under the noses of the whole court, and then dumped me in the gardens."

"The sultan's _bride_?" Hero said severely to Relena.

"Almost-bride," she replied defensively. "And why didn't _you_ rescue me, Hero? You kidnapped me in the first place, after all; you could at _least_ have the decency to keep hold of me!"

"Kidnapped?" echoed several voices in surprise.

"She's the princess of the Sanc Kingdom," Quatre said slowly, and glanced over at Wufei when the scholar added, "Who went missing during the Uesian invasion two days ago."

"You _kidnapped_ her?" Quatre, Duo, and Hilde chorused in disbelief. Hero, not knowing what to say, simply glowered.

"Right out of my bedroom," Relena sighed. "Killed the guards and whisked me away like the murderer he is."

"The question is why," Trowa murmured, but only Wufei heard him, and the two shared a look.

Hilde marched up and planted herself between Hero and Relena, spreading her arms as if to protect the princess. "Don't come near her! You're a bad man!' she declared.

"I'll say," Duo muttered. "And here I thought you were some romantic lover, tragically bereft of his sweetheart and desperate to get her back-" He suddenly gasped. "Speaking of which, where's my money?"

Hero nodded at Relena, who glanced at Duo in confusion. With an apologetic little smile, he held out his hand expectantly. "Pay up, er, Your Highness."

"_Excuse_ me?"

"Hey, I don't work for free, you know!"

"You're _charging_ me for the rescue?" she said in disbelief.

"Hey now! Gotta make a living, don't I?" he said defensively.

Her eyes narrowed into dangerous slits. "I have nothing. My jewels were taken from me in the sultan's palace. And by the way, that was a really lame rescue."

Duo was staring at her in growing outrage. "You...you're broke? You can't be! You're a princess!"

Relena meaningfully turned her pockets inside-out, showing them to be empty.

"Argh!" Duo whirled and grabbed Quatre by the shoulders, shaking him. "You, then! Give me my money!"

"You would be wise to take your hands off my employer's son," Wufei suggested, beginning to twirl his staff pointedly.

He never needed to use it, however, because at that moment Sandrock pressed her huge forehead ever so gently to Duo's comparatively tiny one. There was nothing threatening in her expression, but Duo got the point at once - she could crush him with the merest pressure.

"Okay, okay!" Duo gasped, backing off. "Keep the jewels, then!" He rounded back on Hero. "You better get used to me, buddy, 'cause I ain't letting you out of my sight 'til I get my fee!" Hero rolled his eyes, picked up his pack, grabbed Relena's hand, and attempted to head in Wing's direction.

Relena didn't walk with him. "Hero, I am not moving until I have your solemn promise that you'll take me home."

"No," he said simply, and tried to drag her after him.

"No!" she shouted, and dug her heels in.

Impatiently, he picked her up, but had only taken a single step when he found his path blocked. "Move," he said.

"I will not allow you to carry this woman away against her will," Quatre said quietly.

"No," Relena said bitterly. "But you'd stand peacefully by when a woman is married to a total stranger against her will."

The prince looked at her in surprise.

"Look," Hero said impatiently. "You _can't_ go back home. It's overrun, and you'd be a prisoner of Uesa. Believe me, they are not kind captors. Your father's dead, your brother, by all accounts, can take care of himself, and your mother is in no position to help you. I don't know who Howard is or what the fae want with you but I...I'll make sure...you don't come to harm in their care." He thought, uncomfortably, that he at least owed her that much.

"Howard?" Duo exclaimed in surprise.

"The fae?" Wufei said suspiciously, and Trowa's eyes narrowed.

Then they all went quiet, because they realized that Relena was crying. "I want to go home," she said brokenly. "Please, I just want to go home..."

"Don't cry, princess," Hilde said softly, reaching up to take her hand.

Awkwardly, with his arms full of crying princess, Hero asked Duo, "This Howard...do you know him?"

"Yeah, man! They say he's old as the hills, used to be a dragon breeder - they _say_ he started the rebellion before coming back here to hide from some prophecy."

"What rebellion?" Quatre said in confusion.

"You have a dragon partner, and you know nothing of the rebellion?" Trowa said in surprise.

"His Highness has never been to the New World," Wufei said shortly. "I don't know _how_ his dragon found him, but I've suspected for some time that he might be one of the Five." He glanced at Quatre as he added, "In fact, it's the only reason I secured a job in the sultan's palace."

"What?" Quatre said, staring at him.

"Is he trustworthy?" Hero asked the mage.

"Who? Quatre?"

"Howard."

"What about Howard?"

_"Is he trustworthy."_

"I don't care!" Relena shouted. "I'm not going!"

"You have nowhere else to go!" Hero shouted back.

"If I may make a suggestion, ladies and gentlemen." All eyes turned to the sound of the new voice, a woman's, which was strangely harsh and musical all at once. The owner of the voice was a beautiful woman who literally glowed as she stood among them, her body giving off a soft light. Her garments were strange, made of incredibly thin material, yet opaquely covering her body in luscious folds. Her long, fair hair streamed freely down her back, mingling with gossamer wings which, now folded, flowed almost down to her ankles. The sight of her was breathtaking to the humans, and her fey magic caused more than one of the dragons to sneeze.

"Who are you?" Hero demanded.

"It is perilous to speak so discourteously to the fae," Wufei warned.

"You're a fairy?" Hilde said in awe.

"Allow me to introduce myself," the woman said pleasantly, though there was something sharp and unsettling about her eyes. "I am a princess of the Unseelie court, and you may call me Dorothy."

"Unseelie?" Duo said suspiciously. "Aren't they, like, the bad fairies?"

Dorothy laughed. "Well, it all depends on your perspective, doesn't it? In my case, I am actually here on behalf of the Seelie, for I have been sent to live among them for a time as an ambassador and as an expression of goodwill."

"So you're a hostage," Trowa observed.

She surveyed him coolly. "If you like. Though, as you can see, I am no prisoner."

"If you're a fae," Hero said urgently, "do you know Jay?"

Dorothy smiled. "Jay...now he has something that belongs to you, young dragon rider, is that not so?"

"I did what he told me," Hero ground out. "I _got_ him the princess. I need my Gundam _back_."

"Gundam?!" Trowa, Duo, and Wufei gasped simultaneously.

"What's a Gundam?" Quatre and Hilde wanted to know.

"Now - Hero, is it? - you haven't quite completed Jay's mission. You were told to keep the princess out of Uesa's hands and deliver her to Howard."

"You have a Gundam!" Duo pounced on Hero. "Give it to me! I need it!"

"He doesn't have it anymore," Trowa said disgustedly.

"But he will get it back," Wufei murmured, "when the Peacecraft girl is taken to the mountains."

There were suddenly three pairs of greedy eyes on her, and Relena glared back at them.

"But what _is_ a Gundam?" Quatre pleaded. He knew, somehow, that it was important.

"Now, now, no need for all this fuss," Dorothy said soothingly. "Jay simply wanted the princess in a safe place. She will do well in the care of the fae, your Gundam will be returned, and you will be free to carry out your original mission, Hero."

Hero's arms tightened on the princess. He didn't want to hand her over to this person, but he needed his Gundam back badly. "I..."

"I want to go home," Relena said strongly, this time to Dorothy.

"Poor dear, of course you do," Dorothy said soothingly. "Unfortunately, you must see how returning you to the Sanc Kingdom would be impossible at this time - but if you come with me, you will no longer be a prisoner of this man, and we will be able to let you communicate with your family."

"Don't trust her," Trowa said quickly. "She's Unseelie." He did not completely understand what was going on, but that much, at least, was clear.

Not to Relena, though. "Do you promise?" she said eagerly. "You'll let me talk to my family?"

"Through magical means, yes."

Relena tried to wriggle free, but Hero's grip on her was unbreakable. "Let me go!" she said angrily.

"I need to complete my mission," he said slowly.

"And you have!" Dorothy said encouragingly. "The princess will be safe, and you will get your Gundam back. See?" She held up something that looked like a tiny metal box. Hero stared at it, not realizing that his arms had gone slack until he reached up to catch the Gundam that Dorothy tossed to him. Then he realized that he was able to do so because he had unconsciously let go of the princess, who was now standing next to the fae.

He took a step toward them, but was assaulted by Duo. "Give me that!"

"Get off," Hero snarled. By the time their tussle was over and Hero emerged triumphant, Dorothy and Relena had vanished.

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: **I still haven't decided yet what pronouns to use for the dragons. I'm sorry it keeps switching between "it" and "s/he, him, her, etc.;" I'll fix it in the final draft.**

"Translocation" is a word Diana Wynne Jones uses in her novels, like a fantasy term for teleportation. _Tadig_ is the Persian word for the crunchy rice at the bottom of the pot.

There are several mistakes in this chapter, but I don't have time to fix them right now... *wince* I also get the feeling that the story is coming off racist, so I _really_ need to work on that...which is stupid, considering my own cultural heritage. *shakes head* I think I'm making up the yew thing. I swear, I am _so_ out of my depth with this fic.


	6. Zechs is a bit upset

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 6 - In which Zechs is a bit upset (rough draft)**

Treize Khushrenada was seated before his desk, but he had turned his chair the other way, towards the large windows. He wanted to let his eyes rest on the gardens and sunlight as he drank his tea, before he had to get to work.

Such a plan was shattered when the door burst open. "Treize!" Footsteps pulsed across the carpet, and a raging hand seized his chair and spun it around before he had finished doing so himself. "How could you do such a thing?!"

Treize found himself staring into two points of icy blue, which flamed through the eye-holes of the prince's mask. Then he glanced down at the spreading stain on his clothes. "Milliard," he said mildly, "you've made me spill my tea." Zechs snatched the delicate teacup and flung it against the wall, where it smashed to pieces.

Treize sighed. "Did you expect me to _tell_ you, Milliard?"

Zechs ripped off his helmet and slammed it savagely onto the desk, then whirled away to pace. Treize ruefully fingered the scratches gouged into the wood, but made no complaint.

"It was only a diversion, wasn't it," Zechs finally said, the words difficult to get past his choked throat. "Sending me off so you could massacre my people behind my back-"

"Not a diversion, no," Treize assured him. "I am indeed very interested in the legendary Metal Man of the Lost City. However, I do confess that the timing of your mission was taken into consideration."

A bookshelf halfway across the room suddenly toppled over, flinging books into a lopsided pile. Both men stared at it - Zechs in horror, Treize with a grim expression. The Peacecraft prince had been well-trained almost since infancy; that he had lost control was not a good sign for either of them.

The door banged open again, admitting a crowd of anxious-looking guards. "Treize-sama! Is everything all right, sir?" They were distracted by the sight of Zechs, bare-headed, standing with his back to them. He did not move or speak to acknowledge their presence.

"Everything is all right," Treize said smoothly. The guards looked at the fallen bookcase, and Treize smiled. "Weapons demonstration. Back to your stations, men."

Reluctantly, the guards left, the last one closing the door respectfully behind him.

It was very quiet.

"Perhaps," Treize finally said, watching Zechs closely, "you ought to put your mask back on."

Like a sleepwalker, Zechs reached for the thing and settled it back in its place. Treize had needed no words to make his point...it was by his mercy alone that Zechs continued to live, and to walk freely among his enemies. He finally spoke, his voice tight. "My father is dead?"

"I'm afraid even I would have had no power to preserve the life of a captive king - even if I had had the inclination."

Zechs closed his eyes. When he could speak civilly again, he asked, "My mother? Relena?"

"Happily, the queen remains safe and unharmed. You may see her if you wish, though she is under constant surveillance - you know I cannot protect you if you give yourself away. As for your sister..." Treize paused, and something else in the room might have suffered mysterious damage if Zechs had not, very deliberately this time, kept control over his emotions. "It is no little vexation to me that, for the moment at least, Relena Peacecraft appears to have vanished."

_"What?"_ Zechs exploded.

Treize gave a humorless laugh. "It was not my doing, believe me. The princess was nowhere to be found after the battle. When pressured, her attendants confessed that they had witnessed her abduction by a person in black, but they would tell us nothing else."

"Why should that have been a problem?" Zechs said bitterly. "I'm sure you could have gotten more information out of them easily enough."

Treize's voice was cold. "I should think you would know me better than that by now, Milliard."

"I did indeed think so, though not anymore."

Treize shook his head. "All set to believe the worst of me now. Well, that's fine. Somehow I doubt it will have much negative impact on your usefulness to me."

Zechs's fists clenched, but he said nothing. It was the first time, in all these months among the Uesians, that he felt trapped; yet it was far better than anything he should have expected. There were also, happily, a couple of holes now in this trap...one of them dragon-shaped. "This intruder," he said aloud. "Not one of _your_ people, then?"

"Of course not," Treize said easily, though his eyes narrowed at the thought of what Romefellar might have been up to in the shadows. "I am inclined to think he was a foreigner, using the invasion as a cover for his own plans."

_'The invasion,'_ Zechs thought, feeling his magic curl ominously; once again he forced it into submission. He couldn't afford to be burning down the palace if his mother was somewhere in it. "What are you doing to find her?"

"At the moment? Nothing."

"What?" Zechs burst out, furious.

"Milliard," Treize said pointedly. "We don't know who took her, or where they went. We have absolutely no leads except that the kidnapper was probably a foreigner."

_"Probably?"_

"_My_ people would not have done such a thing without telling me, and yours would not have slaughtered Sanc soldiers. However we cannot rule either out completely, not until we have more information." Yes, Romefellar would _definitely_ need some checking into.

"I'm going after her," Zechs said abruptly. "I don't care what you say, or if you reveal me and I have to hack my way through your armies to get out - or burn my way out."

Treize smiled. Zechs could have been referring to that mysterious Peacecraft power, or to that intriguing animal he had brought back with him, or both. Either way, it didn't matter. "I won't stop you, Milliard. You are still a Commander here. My people will not hesitate to provision you."

Which was not very reassuring. Perhaps Treize had suspicions about the second Metal Man after all. In any case, "I am going to visit my mother first."

"Just a little friendly advice," Treize said casually, "make no attempt to free her."

Zechs did not answer either way.

o.o.o.o.o

The captive did not condescend to turn when she heard the door open. Her fingers curled into fists on her lap, but otherwise she did not move, fixing her gaze on the freshly-barred window and the glimpse of sky beyond.

The door shut. The queen was very aware of the second presence in the room, but she refused to turn - until she heard his voice. "How are you, madam?"

She stiffened, and forced her movements into a dignified slowness. The sight of him was so welcome, she repressed a sob; despite the mask and the enemy uniform, her son was fully recognizable to her and more precious than ever. "As well as can be expected," she answered haughtily. "Commander Zechs Marquise, I take it?"

He bowed. "Pleased to make your acquaintance under any circumstances, madam, though this situation is more unfortunate than most."

They could not touch for fear of the spy-spells, but their eyes clung to each other as he moved across the room and stood before her. She looked at him anxiously, checking for any sign of injury, but she detected none. "A sad understatement."

"Madam," he said softly, "I have only just learned of the invasion. I wished to make it clear to you that I would not have...approved it, if such was in my power."

"That means little to me," she said coolly, but her eyes shone with love. "Regardless of whether your hands are clean or dirty, my country is dead."

"I was informed," he said with difficulty, "that your country is not the only one now in that state. Please accept my deepest condolences about your loss."

"Thank you," she whispered, barely able to hold her emotions in check. She was startled when he suddenly cursed and moved forward, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Mil- Commander Marquise, you are too forward," she warned quickly.

"Forgive me," he said, his tone stiff, but he gave her shoulder one last squeeze before he took his hand away. She could not stop the brief smile that touched her lips and then was gone. It felt so good to have him here again, when he had been gone so long and in such danger. Now if only she could embrace her son and weep for her lost ones...

"I also came to tell you," he added, "that I am taking measures to locate the princess Relena."

"I see," she said after a moment, feeling a twinge of satisfaction. 'Locate' did not necessarily mean 'retrieve.' Relena's safety was more important than her return to the now ruined Sanc Kingdom. "If you are expecting me to thank you for seeking to take my daughter captive, I am afraid you will be disappointed."

"No thanks were expected. However, I _was_ wondering if perhaps you knew anything of your late husband's more important subordinates. For example, I hear that the captain of the royal guard was not found among either the prisoners or among the dead."

Her heart ached for him, as she saw the strained set of his lips. It had been all too clear that, destined as he was for a political marriage, he had fallen in love with Captain Lucrezia Noin, and the queen had hated the necessity of denying him such happiness. Now, though...her husband was dead, and the Sanc Kingdom was no more. Milliard was lucky to be alive. The queen silently vowed that if they were ever free of this horror, she would give Milliard her blessing and happily watch him married to the woman he truly loved. She had lost everything - her children's well-being was now all she had left.

"Even if I were in a position to receive any news, I don't know why I would tell _you_," she said dryly. "If the captain is still alive, she's long gone by now. As I remember, she was quite loyal to the princess; perhaps she's gone in search of her."

"'Perhaps'?" he queried anxiously.

The queen risked a smile, remembering how startled she had been the night when Noin had appeared at the window, mounted on a new wyvern and sneaking in some sweetmeats and a small blade to her along with the news. Zechs nodded in satisfaction, even as she shrugged and said, "Wishful thinking is all I have left."

"I see." He bowed. "Thank you, madam. Believe me when I say that I will do all in my power to right the wrongs that have been done."

Her eyes widened in alarm. Was he talking of revenge? "Commander Marquise," she said, "you are acquainted, are you not, with the Peacecraft ideals?"

"Of course, madam," he said coldly. "Though I do not see how that would concern me, as Zechs Marquise is no Peacecraft."

Her hands flew to her mouth. "Mil-"

"Madam," he cut her off, just in time. "Thank you for speaking with me. I will take my leave."

"Commander," she pleaded, but he only bowed again and left the room.

o.o.o.o.o

Tallgeese was waiting outside, tapping his tail rhythmically against the ground. To him, it was a simple expression of boredom, but the length of dragon-flesh was so massive that it shook the earth with every strike. The humans were all keeping well away.

_"About time,"_ Tallgeese commented when Zechs came striding up. _"Are we going after the King now?"_

"What king?" Zechs said impatiently. "We're going to find my sister and then raze Uesa to the ground. She was likely taken by a foreigner - we'll try Barandeh first, it's closest."

_"You seem upset,"_ Tallgeese observed as he stretched out a wing for Zechs to climb up. _"About your dam, is it? Why don't we just take her away?"_

"I can't waltz out of here with the captured enemy queen," Zechs said through gritted teeth, "but don't worry, we're coming back for her."

_"As if I'd be worried about some she-mortal,"_ Tallgeese said in disdain. _"Do what you like, but the prophecy will not be delayed. We have been awaiting the return of our King for too long."_ He crouched and sprang heavily upwards, his wings climbing the air until they were high enough to glide.

"What's all this about a king?" Zechs shouted over the wind.

_"Tsk. I forgot you don't know the prophecy. Fine, then; listen."_

_To be continued..._


	7. The Five purposely convene

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 7 - In which the Five (and their dragons) Purposely Convene (rough draft)**

"This is...Faerie?" Relena said in awe. Dorothy had brought her to what looked like a huge...either banquet hall or throne room, she couldn't decide. Two thrones stood at the head of the hall, where a king and queen of breathtaking beauty were seated, but the rest of the hall was filled with groups of laughing fae, many of them eating or drinking. Music filled the air, haunting melodies not heard on Earth.

"The Seelie Court, at any rate," Dorothy answered. "My own people's halls are not so gaudy."

Relena would not have called the bright colors and sparkling light 'gaudy,' but she had no desire to argue. She let Dorothy lead her up to the thrones and introduce her to the fey monarchs. "My Bright Lady Titania, I present to you Princess Relena Peacecraft of the Sanc Kingdom. Relena-sama, this is Titania, ruler of the Seelie, and her consort, Lord Oberon."

Relena curtsied, and the monarchs acknowledged her with nods of recognition. "So this is the one," Titania murmured coolly. "Frankly, I would have preferred her brother, but she will do."

Relena frowned. "Pardon me, Your Majesty?"

Titania smiled. "You are of the Peacecraft line, are you not?"

Oberon, also grinning, leaned forward to prop his chin casually on one hand. "Tell me, little one, have your powers been so useless to you in your distress, that you would turn to Faerie for help?"

Relena's face burned. Did they know of her childhood failures? Or were they, knowing of the Peacecraft legacy, simply puzzled that she had allowed herself to be kidnapped and carried around the country like an ordinary helpless girl? "It should be enough that I am in need of help," she said stiffly. "I was promised contact with my family if I came."

"Of course," Titania said soothingly. "Dorothy, look after her, will you?"

Dorothy curtsied gracefully. "As you wish, my lady." Then she led Relena out of that great room, into a hallway with many doors. One of these she opened, revealing a dim room bare except for a large mirror hanging on the wall. "The queen prefers this room to be lovelier when she's using it," Dorothy explained, "but doesn't bother to keep up with the glamours when she's gone." She smiled. "Of course it would never occur to her to use _real_ furnishings."

"I see," Relena said politely, anxious to speak to her family.

Dorothy walked up to the mirror and, to Relena's surprise, addressed it. "Mirror, mirror on the wall, bring an answer to my call." The glass suddenly shone with light, filling the room with a low hum. Dorothy stood aside and smiled. "Come, Princess. Stand here, and speak the name of the person you would like to talk to."

Nervous but eager, Relena stepped forward and uncertainly spoke her mother's name. For a moment the mirror's glow intensified, but then suddenly cleared to reveal a woman's worn, familiar face. "Mother!" Relena cried.

The queen stiffened at the sound of her daughter's voice, but her expression did not change. "Curse these spying spells," she said meaningfully. "Having your every move watched is so demeaning."

"Wh...What?"

"Be careful, Relena-sama," Dorothy said. "Your mother is being watched. Your enemies cannot hear you, but they can hear every words she says."

Relena swallowed. "Mother, you don't have to speak, just listen. I'm safe, I didn't even know about Uesa until I heard about it in Barandeh. I'm so sorry, Mother."

The queen smiled and touched her fingers to her mouth, blowing a kiss.

Relena's smile was watery. "I wish I could be with you... I'm in - I'm actually in Faerie right now."

A look of alarm crossed the queen's face.

"It's all right, really; I'm safe. Dorothy rescued me from Hero - from my kidnapper, I mean. I don't know who he is or where he's from, but he hates Uesa and was hired by someone else to take me. I don't know anything else about him. Mother, I - I don't want to just sit in hiding when you're a prisoner. I'm going to find a way to save you...all right?"

The queen was shaking her head. "Oh, I pray that my daughter is safe, that she won't do something foolish, even with good intentions."

Biting her lip, but not dissuaded, Relena said softly, "I love you."

Her mother mouthed back the words, _'I love you.'_ Relena took a deep breath and touched the mirror, and it went clear again, showing only her own reflection. "I wish to speak to my brother Milliard now," she told it. The mirror once again glowed - but then there was a violent flash of light, and a cracking noise; when Relena opened her eyes again, the mirror-face was clouded, with a crack along one side.

"Oh dear," Dorothy murmured. "It looks like that is all we will be able to do today. Run along, Princess; it will take me a while to mend this."

"But I want to talk to my brother," Relena protested.

"Something is blocking magical communication with him," Dorothy explained. "I'm afraid that contacting him is impossible at this moment. Don't worry, just find something to amuse you until I'm finished. The Seelie Court is not lacking for diversion."

Restlessly, Relena returned to the main hall and wandered around, shying away from the creatures who seemed to be taking an interest in her. There did indeed seem to be diversion enough, but what Relena really wanted was...well, something that was forever lost, to tell the truth. Home, family, everyone safe and happy again. Certainly not things she was going to find here.

"I said get _off_ me!"

A man with dragonfly wings came reeling backwards past Relena; she looked over in surprise to see the angry speaker. Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open in disbelief.

"I may be starving, but I'm not yet so weak I can't send punks like you crying for their mothers!"

"Noin-san!" Relena exclaimed.

The captain turned to her, the irritation swallowed by amazement. "Princess...Relena?"

"Oh Noin-san!" Relena cried gladly, rushing to take her hands, "I'm so glad to see you! You look...awful."

It was true. Noin's clothes were stained and disheveled, her hair a mess; there were dark circles under her eyes and her face was scratched. "Who cares about me?" Noin said impatiently. "Are _you_ all right, Princess?"

"I'm fine, now that you're here," Relena said warmly. "Is my brother all right, Noin-san? Do you know?"

Noin's face fell. "No, I don't. And don't bother depending on me, Princess. I can't even get myself out of this mess, much less you."

Relena frowned. "What mess?"

Noin shook her head slowly. "I've been here for days...they won't give me anything to eat."

Relena looked out over the banquet tables filled with food, and her eyes widened in realization. The food of Faerie was perilous for mortals, since to taste it meant confinement in Faerie forever. "Noin, what happened? How did you end up here?"

Noin sighed. "I was searching for you, Princess; city after city, and all the roads in between. I found a lead in Barandeh, but then I got caught up in a fairy ring and found myself here." She smiled. "I guess Dorothy didn't lie after all. She said you would be here."

Relena frowned. "Before I came, you mean?"

"Princess," Noin said solemnly, "I'm not sure why these fae are interested in you, but it might have been a mistake for you to come."

Relena suddenly felt cold. "What do you mean?"

"Well...now that they've got you, they might not let you leave."

o.o.o.o.o

The sight would have been breathtaking if there had been anyone to see it. The five dragons came soaring down from above the clouds, circling lower and lower until they came to graceful landings at the foot of the Peacemillion Mountains.

Hero dismounted stiffly, so sunk in his own thoughts that he very nearly tripped. Hurtling down Wing's wing to land in an ungraceful heap would have been the humiliating crown to this awful day. Not even the retrieval of his Gundam made him feel better. _'You lost the princess,'_ he kept thinking to himself, frustrated by how much it bothered him. _'All your training, all your skill, and you can't even hold on to a girl.'_ Luckily he had not voiced that last thought aloud, or Duo would never have let him hear the end of it.

Hero looked over at the mage, who was helping the little girl down to the ground. It seemed like the six of them were to be spending the night in the same camp, which did not suit Hero at all - he worked alone. Yet at the same time, he needed to find out more of these other dragon riders, for all of them, even the delicate-looking prince, seemed dangerous in one way or another. He didn't want them interfering with his missions, which they very well might if they were all partnered with vengeful dragons.

"I know we had to leave before the dragons were noticed," the prince was saying, "but surely we have time now to get some answers to our questions?"

"First things first," Trowa said shortly. "We need to get this place secure and settled for the night."

"I'll set up wards," Wufei grumbled. "Your Highness, get the food out of my bag and make the others share resources."

"_Make_ them?" Quatre said blankly, and eyed the other young men.

"I don't object to sharing the food," Trowa said. "I can easily get more. Hero, Duo, what have you got?"

"What's yours is mine and what's mine is yours," Duo said merrily.

"But Duo-nii," Hilde said in confusion, "we don't have any-"

He shushed her quickly.

Hero sighed. "Whatever. But only for tonight - I'm not about to team up with anyone."

"Same here," Trowa said smoothly. "Heavyarms and I fight alone - but we _do_ need to coordinate our attacks, so they don't interfere with each other."

"What attacks?" Quatre said insistently, but Trowa's only answer was to toss him a bag of food.

Sooner than it would have taken most groups, the camp was set and the six were gathered around a fire, eating supper. The dragons were more or less sprawled in a large circle around them.

Wufei's partner, Nataku*, lay a little apart from the others, occasionally sighing. Wing was huddled in a sulky lump, his back to Deathscythe, who seemed oblivious to his snub; she was blowing increasingly creative smoke rings that sailed up through the night air. Heavyarms sat silent and upright like a huge statue, gazing intently down at the humans; Sandrock lay with her head next to Quatre, occasionally shifting closer and closer until her huge nose was practically in his lap.

"Ow," he laughed, pushing at her head until she moved away with a sigh. "Your scales are hot." He turned back to the others. "Now, are we finally going to talk?"

"First off," Hero said harshly, "where did you all come from?" *no, what they plan to do*

"Same place you did, of course," Wufei said irritably. "Except Quatre, though his mother was from the New World."

"All of you?" Quatre said in amazement. "_None_ of you are from here?"

"It's not like an Old Worlder would understand our problems," Duo muttered, helping himself to seconds.

"What problems?" Quatre asked soberly. "I don't know much about the New World, just that there's sometimes trouble over the colonization boundaries."

"_We_ don't care about boundaries," Hilde said, "it's Uesa and the other big countries who fight over stupid stuff like that. It's the way those tyrants lord it over us and squish the life out of us-" Duo elbowed her, and she fell silent.

"Tyranny," Quatre said slowly. He thought it wise not to speak his thoughts out loud, but it was dawning on him that, if the New Worlders were fighting against the masters who had colonized them, they might see themselves as freedom fighters or some such; yet from the Old World's point of view, they were traitors and rebels. He glanced down at Sandrock, who rolled an eye to look at him. "Where do the dragons come in?" he said instead.

"Dragons were never extinct," Trowa murmured. "They migrated when the Old World became incapable of supporting both them and the growing human population. They became more cautious, hiding for the most part, though nowadays the same problems are beginning to crop up."

"There are so few of them," Wufei said, gazing at Nataku, who ignored him. "Yet they have no room to grow or increase."

"'Cause we humans just _hate_ having to share, don't we," Duo said with a bitter smile at Deathscythe. "Especially with these ugly menaces." Deathscythe snorted hot breath at him, recognizing the teasing in his words and responding in kind.

"So why are the dragons coming back?" Quatre asked.

Everyone looked at Wufei, who sighed. "There is a prophecy," he explained. "We've lost the means of a full translation, but basically, it is said that the power of the dragons will rise again with the return of their king - an event which will coincide with a war in the human realm. At least, that's what _I_ figure; there's also mention of a gathering of five dragon riders-" He lifted his eyebrows meaningfully at their assembly. "-and something about a 'peace' prince who will lead the war, and something about the sun. There's a lot of debate over the meaning of the prince figure, and what the sun has to do with the war or with the dragon king, or even how literal or figurative all this is - but whatever the case, it makes me uneasy that we now have five dragon riders and a prince of the Peacecraft line who was involved with the country that forcibly destroyed a pacifist kingdom."

This explanation, or parts of it, were apparently news to more than Quatre. Trowa and Hero sat quietly, digesting the information, and Duo called to Deathscythe, "Oi! Is your king gonna show up anytime time soon?" She only blinked at him and smiled secretively.

"So," Hero finally grunted. "What are the plans? I don't want you getting in my way."

"I could say the same," Trowa returned smoothly.

"Hey, hey," Duo protested. "We've all got the same mission here, right? What's wrong with, you know, _working together_?" He received a bunch of glares for his trouble.

"I wish I knew more about this," Quatre said slowly. "I've...I've always wanted to go to the New World, to see where my mother was born...but my father has never allowed it." He sighed. "I wish I could see what it's like for people living in the colonies, if they really are so miserable that they would revolt against their overlords."

"Trust me," Duo said sourly, "we have good reason."

"Your father will be doing everything in his power to get you back," Wufei said thoughtfully, looking at Quatre. "Perhaps dissuading him entirely is impossible, but we probably ought to send a message at least."

"No," Hero said flatly. "No messages."

"You don't understand," Quatre told him. "I am my father's only son - I have 29 sisters. As the only heir to the throne, I am...rather heavily guarded. My father would resort to quite drastic measures to get me back."

Hilde was staring at him, open-mouthed. "You have _twenty-nine_ sisters?!" she exclaimed.

Quatre smiled. "Yes, I do."

"Must be a nightmare," Duo commented, grinning as he fended off Hilde's retaliatory smack.

"It's not that bad," Quatre said. "They are very kind to me - they spoil me, I think." He sighed a little. "Everyone does. Sometimes it's frustrating...I get treated like a child more than I am treated like a man."

"Which is why you're here, I suppose," Trowa murmured, "rather than trying to turn us in."

Quatre looked at him in surprise. "Well..." He smiled a little sheepishly. "I admit, it _is_ refreshing to be on an adventure like this, with you people instead of the court."

"This isn't a vacation," Duo grumbled. "We're going to be fighting, you know."

Quatre nodded uneasily, stroking his hand absently over Sandrock's pale scales.

"I've sent the message," Wufei announced. "Even so, we should be careful."

"I told you not to send any messages," Hero growled.

"I'm not stupid," Wufei said impatiently. "There was nothing about our location or intentions, simply an assurance that the prince is safe and in my company."

"Did you use magic?" Duo asked, frowning. "You couldn't have sent a message any other way."

"I know some small measure of those arts, yes," Wufei said distastefully. "I use them when I must, but it is not my way. My area of study is in the natural realm."

"In any case," Trowa said, "we had better get some sleep."

"Not before we figure out what we're doing in the morning," Hero insisted. "No one answered my question."

"About our plans?" Trowa said, narrowing his eyes. "If you're so worried about it, why don't _you_ tell us first? Do you intend to go after that princess of yours?"

"You're a bad man," Hilde grumbled. "Men are supposed to _rescue_ princesses, not kidnap them."

"I have a mission," Hero said in frustration. "I have been delayed long enough." All the same... "She is...my responsibility, though," he admitted in a low voice.

"Look, you're not the only one with a mission," Duo pointed out meaningfully. "None of us are chopped liver, you know. We can deal with things while you're off rescuing your princess for _real_ this time."

"Deal with things?" Wufei said sharply. "If that's the case, perhaps we are enemies after all, Duo Maxwell."

The boys gazed tensely at each other, as Quatre and Hilde looked between them in confusion.

"Wait," Duo said cautiously. "Are you saying...that you're _not_ planning to spread general chaos and mayhem, Chang?"

"Chaos and mayhem?" Quatre said in alarm.

"Our orders," Trowa said slowly, "were to go with the dragons to the Old World and essentially burn its strongholds to the ground. We were to get hold of Gundam technology and use it to conquer our conquerors."

"But that's-!" Quatre gasped. "You mean you would destroy indiscriminately? That countless civilians who did you no harm would die?"

"There is no way I would do such a dishonorable thing," Wufei growled.

Duo released a breath. "Doesn't sit well with me, either," he said, "which is why I'm glad we're on the same side, Wu-man."

Wufei blinked. "_Excuse_ me?"

"What about you two?" Hilde wanted to know, staring at Hero and Trowa as she edged behind her brother. More than one young man was resting his hand on a weapon.

"Attacking randomly is counter-productive," Hero said flatly.

Trowa chuckled darkly. "What's the use of ruling over a land of rebellious people?" he said. "It would be repeating the same crimes that had been done to us, and look how _we've_ reacted."

"Surely you two are not that cold-hearted about it!" Quatre gasped.

Hero glared, saying nothing about the sight of dead bodies and lost lives that he saw too many times in his dreams.

"The reasons don't matter," Wufei said, relaxing his guard a little. "The important thing is that we all have the same goal. Massacre is not our intention. Our true enemies are not the people of this land, but its bloodthirsty leaders."

"Speaking of which, we're going to attack those guys _together_, right?" Duo insisted. "I mean, come on - if enemy headquarters get hit from above and on all sides by five dragons, we've got it made!"

"And get in each other's way," Hero muttered. "No, thank you. I do things my own way."

"Instead of taking on the enemy capitals one by one," Trowa agreed, "it would be quicker for each of us to go after a power center within a short period of time. Our dragons are powerful enough on their own, even against Gundam soldiers." He glanced up at Heavyarms as he spoke, and as if in confirmation, the dragon leaned down and nudged his back with its nose.

Duo sighed. "Morons. Whatever; I'm hittin' the sack."

"I'll take first watch," Trowa offered.

Wufei shrugged. "Second."

"We need to take watches?" Quatre said, frowning. "I'd have thought that our friends here would be enough." He indicated the dragons encircling them.

The other boys paused. Then Duo laughed. "You have a point, man!"

_To be continued..._

Author's Notes: Titania and Oberon are the names of the Faerie King and Queen in Shakespeare's _A Midsummer Night's Dream_.


	8. Zechs gives Relena a call

_**Searching for the Sun Lands**_**, a Gundam Wing fanfic by Raberba girl**

**Chapter 8 - In which Zechs gives Relena a call (rough draft)**

There was something almost home-like about seeing Tallgeese's silhouette in the distance as Zechs trudged back. Returning to a friend was slightly comforting after the day he had just had in Barandeh.

_"Any luck?"_ Tallgeese asked, not sounding particularly interested.

Zechs sighed and threw himself on the ground next to the creature, rummaging in his pack for something to eat. "No," he mumbled. "At least, I didn't find her." He leaned back against Tallgeese's hot scales, chewing thoughtfully. "There was news of her, though. Apparently she was picked up by the sultan and then," he gritted his teeth, "kidnapped from the court by a foreign magician. The prince and some scholar were taken as well," not that he cared, except in relation to how the knowledge might aid him in recovering his sister.

_"Does your litter-mate ever do anything _other_ than get kidnapped?"_ Tallgeese asked rhetorically, sounding a little scornful.

Zechs gritted his teeth. "I should have been there," he growled, mostly to himself. "I should have protected her."

He could not quite remember now why it had seemed so important for him to leave, to make himself useful in the heart of enemy territory and leave his baby sister to be groomed as heir instead. At the time, he had thought he had been doing something noble and self-sacrificing, removing the danger he posed to the kingdom and using his curse to his people's advantage, rather than being a burden. Yet it had all backfired, and now he realized that he had been foolish and cowardly, running away from his responsibilities to childishly pursue a sense of self-worth. "I'm a fool."

_"You don't need to be clever,"_ Tallgeese offered encouragingly_. "Just bloodthirsty."_

Zechs glared. "If I _am_ destined to start a war, I assure you, it won't be for wanton violence."

_"As long as you _do _start the war, I don't care."_

Zechs laid his half-eaten meal aside, then looked at his hands, slowly clenching and unclenching them. "Tallgeese?"

_"Mm?"_

"I would like to...try something."

_"What's in your head, Peace-prince?"_

Zechs stood up. He removed the helmet from his head and set it carefully down beside his pack, even though what he really wanted to do was throw it away as hard as he could. Then he moved away, took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and raised his arms.

About five minutes later, _"FLAMING SALAMANDERS!"_ Tallgeese cursed in a roar, both alarmed and impressed.

Zechs, or rather, Milliard Peacecraft, was sweating steadily and too frightened and exhilarated to answer.

He had never, _ever_ called on his power like this before. Summoning it during training was one thing, calling it up only to learn how to control it; or else small, carefully-suppressed tricks when necessary; and then there had been the subconscious, uncontrolled outbursts from his childhood. But this...to call his magic for some great, unrestrained work, feeling it course joyfully through his very veins, _seeing_ each grain of sand and cluster of stars in minute detail, hearing Tallgeese's (amazed) thoughts - Milliard felt like an immortal. A very powerful one. Who very well could start a bloody war that would leave few survivors for the dragons to gloat over.

Milliard shuddered, and felt his magic falter. Then he cried out as he felt Tallgeese somehow step into his consciousness, one mind to another. _"What are you so frightened of? Hold on, fool!"_

Milliard fumbled with his mind, not realizing that his fingers were also grasping uselessly. He regained shaky hold of his magic, but there was an ominous undercurrent running through it now, as if it sensed his weakness and was thinking of rebelling.

_'No,'_ he thought. _'_No!_ You belong to _me_, I am your master.'_ He was not sure he would have been able to do it if Tallgeese's formidable mind had not been glaring awesomely over his figurative shoulder; but his magic trembled and hovered, and Zechs remembered Relena and then the fear was once again gone. _'Find her! FIND HER!'_ His fury and anxiety surged through the magic, propelling it up and out; Tallgeese's deft, surprisingly gentle touch, mind to mind, slowly steered Zechs into more positive waters. It was love now coursing through him, love for his sister that set his magic once again singing, carrying it to greater heights than ever before.

When Milliard finally dared to open his eyes, he found that the very sky was alight, illuminating the edge of the desert, as if the stars blazed with her face or her name, as if the constellations had rearranged themselves in a desperate call. "RELENA!" he shouted. _Come back...come back...!_

o.o.o.o.o

Deep in the Peacemillion mountains, an old man stumbled on the path back to his hidden home, losing most of the water out of the bucket he carried. He didn't notice, since he was too preoccupied with staring up at the sky, one hand pressed absently to his suddenly aching head. "Ah, Milliard," he whispered in excited apprehension. "Stay strong, lad..." The dragons would fare the same, one way or the other; it was human lives which lay in the balance.

o.o.o.o.o

Four of them were on their feet in an instant, wildly brandishing weapons; Quatre struggled groggily to follow; Hilde whimpered without even opening her eyes and rolled over to grasp her brother's leg tightly. Duo, yanking desperately at the still-recovering threads of his magic, spread his fingers and flung spells of invisibility and protection over her, all the while darting glances around, trying to find the threat.

It was the dragons' roars which had awakened them. Deathscythe now crouched down close to Duo with her wings over her head, whining like a frightened dog; Sandrock swept Quatre close to her body and held him there, staring around warily, as if she was defending a threatened hatchling; Nataku snaked off into the darkness in a hunting crouch; Heavyarms loomed over the camp, growling uneasily; Wing was upright, neck outstretched, roaring furiously and streaming fire as if in the midst of battle.

The boys, however, could not find any evidence of danger.

o.o.o.o.o

Deep in the bowels of the Lost City, an ancient creature stirred restlessly. A long, low growl shook the earth, then at last faded away.

o.o.o.o.o

The queen of a fallen realm sat straight up in bed, gasping for breath and clutching at her heart. "Oh, Milliard, my son...!"

Elsewhere in the castle, Treize Khushrenada stumbled, and was caught by the young woman by his side.

"Master Treize, are you all right?"

"I...yes, I believe I am," he finally murmured, straightening as he rubbed at his forehead. "Lady Une, surely you sensed that?"

"I'm not sure," she said doubtfully, gazing up into his face. "I was worried about you."

Treize glanced out the window beside them. "Milliard, my friend...I see you've begun to break free at last..."

o.o.o.o.o

The fae had been dancing, nearly at the height of passion for their night's revelry.

In an instant, however, it had all changed. Glasses of wine and plates of food smashed heedlessly to the floor; glamour flickered wildly, alternating between the court's usual unearthly beauty and the true state of things beneath; fae everywhere were screaming, running, staring around them wildly. A group of five ugly fae in one corner were, for some reason, laughing loudly.

"Guess you were right, Jay."

"Heh, it's him all right..."

"Stupid kid, now we're going to have to rush the plans."

"Is that a problem, Gee?"

"Not at all, Oh. You up for a challenge?"

Relena, having not left Noin's side all evening, leaped to her feet and clutched the other woman's shoulder. "Noin-san! Wh...What is it?" she asked fearfully, feeling a sudden quivering ache in her heart, as if she was being called urgently.

"...Milliard?" Noin finally whispered, her eyes wide, not seeming to be aware of her surroundings at all.

Amidst the chaos, beside her furiously panicked consort, the Faerie Queen stood tall and calm, her eyes flashing brilliantly, her mouth curved in an almost greedy smile. "So there you are, my love," she murmured. "Now why wasn't I-? Ah. Tallgeese." She smiled and raised her hand, gathering her power. "It's just a matter of time, then." With a sudden, sharp movement of her hand, she caught the raw power of the prince's call and flung it mockingly back.

o.o.o.o.o

Milliard cried out and tumbled backwards, knocking painfully into Tallgeese's hide. He lay there for several long minutes, his arms wrapped around his viciously throbbing head. Then, as the pain very slowly began to recede, he cautiously rolled onto his back and gazed unsteadily up at his companion. "What...what was that?"

_"It was HER,"_ Tallgeese snarled. For the first time Milliard realized that the creature was curled protectively around his comparatively tiny form, wings outspread and eyes blazing. _"Drat that harpy, she knows where you are now. We're going to have to leave."_

"What?" Milliard said numbly. He didn't feel like he could _move_ at the moment, much less pack up and take off.

_"Up we go, Peace-prince."_

o.o.o.o.o

"Sandrock," Quatre panted, sweating from the heat of her scales, "what is it?!"

She sent him a distressed series of thoughts, wordless ones, tumbling into his mind without her usual care. He gasped in pain and reached one hand up to his head; the other arm was pinned to his side. He couldn't understand, except that she was struck with a sort of compassionate grief.

"What's _up_ with you guys?" Duo demanded, kicking Deathscythe in an effort to get her attention. She cracked open one eye and gazed at him tragically. "What, is there an army coming or something?!"

_"Peace-prince,"_ she thought at him, the voice of her mind smaller than he had ever heard it.

"What? Peace-prince?"

Hero had fallen to his knees, squeezing his head hard in a vain effort to control the pain of his dragon's enraged thoughts.

_"Going to kill him! Going to burn him!"_

"Wing," Hero gasped, but could say no more, for the sound of his own voice pounded into his brain and made the headache worse.

Heavyarms met his partner's eyes. _"Shouldn't have lost the little one."_

"What little one?" Trowa asked guardedly, still unsure whether the knives gripped in his fists were needed or not.

_"Princess. The one who went to the fae."_

Nataku returned, so quietly that none but her partner noticed her return, if indeed anyone even realized she had been gone. She crouched down by him, frustrated thoughts oozing from her. _"Not close enough."_

"What's not?" he asked sharply, weapon still at the ready.

_"Peace-prince. Too far away."_ She glanced at the others. _"Maybe it's good...Wing would try to kill him. Fool."_

Wufei had a cold feeling. "The prince from the prophecy? What happened? He's done something?" He paused. "Why would Wing be angry at the prince?"

Nataku moved her head close so that she was touching him. She would have nuzzled him, but knew that was a thing he would not tolerate. _"Prince is upset - searches for the one Wing's human lost. War is close now."_ Her thoughts made an irritated curl in Wing's direction. _"His magic hurts, though. Making Wing crazy."_

As the effects began to fade and the pain lessen, the dragons began to calm down a little; Sandrock loosened her hold on Quatre and now looked worriedly at Wing, who had stopped spitting fire but was still growling and moving restlessly about. The humans pressed close to the other dragons in order to avoid being accidentally trampled on; Duo had to drag Hero along, since the assassin was still clutching his head.

Deathscythe, recovered, finally raised her head and glared. _"Wing, shut up."_

_"Raaaghhh!"_

_"Wing,"_ Sandrock said, with a worried glance at Hilde, _"you are frightening the hatchling, and upsetting the other humans."_

_"Tallgeese is with him...! Tallgeese...!"_

_"You're being a fool,"_ Heavyarms snapped. _"If any enemies are near, they'll have certainly heard you and will know where to find us."_

_"Your human isn't going to be any good for anything if you keep tearing his mind like that,"_ Nataku put in scornfully.

Wing finally calmed, lowering his head to the ground and peering around through narrowed eyes. Rather to his surprise, he found all the humans far away from him, clustered together protectively with his partner and the hatchling tucked behind them. They were all looking warily at _him_, as if he meant to hurt them. And now he saw what Nataku meant, for his partner was crouched in a miserable huddle, his mind radiating waves of pain.

_"Agh...such weaklings, these humans are,"_ Wing thought in frustrated remorse.

_"They're so small,"_ Sandrock reminded him. _"You have to be gentle with them, Wing."_

_"Yes. One little squeeze and they explode,"_ Deathscythe remembered.

_"You didn't kill your last partner that way, did you?"_ Heavyarms thought sharply.

_"Of course not!"_ the black dragon yelped indignantly.

Wing's head was now waiting directly in front of the humans. He glared, and sensed their uneasiness spike in response, but they did not move. It was his partner who pushed past them, half-crawling, and stood swaying with both upper limbs still cradling his head. Wing was sure that he would have fallen again if Deathscythe's partner hadn't put an arm around him to hold him up.

Hero matched his dragon glare for glare. "Well?"

_"Tallgeese,"_ Wing said sullenly. _"With Peace-prince."_

"And what's that supposed to mean?" Hero snapped.

_"Tallgeese...bad, very bad. Must fight him."_

"Because?"

_"Killed Nataku. Now I can't. Can't avenge."_

Hero, the throbbing in his head gradually receding, glanced in confusion at the blue dragon. "Nataku's right there."

Wing growled in frustration. _"Different Nataku,"_ was the best he could get it into human terms.

"What is he saying?" Wufei demanded.

"Says he wants to kill Tallgeese because Tallgeese killed Nataku."

"Ah," Wufei realized.

Duo was not the only one who wanted a better explanation.

"It's their business," Wufei said gruffly. "Just drop it."

Duo was not the only one who was insistently unsatisfied with this.

_"Just tell them,"_ Nataku snarled. _"Nosy humans gonna die soon and forget, anyway."_

Wufei shook his head, hoping that she meant 'soon' in dragon terms rather than human. "Nataku was the name of her mate; she took it on as her own after she lost him. The original Nataku had disputed with Wing over treasure, Tallgeese over territory. Tallgeese got to him first."

Everyone stared at him. "Uh," Duo finally said, "and she's..._okay_ with this?"

"No."

"But they're working together - aren't they?" Quatre said in confusion, looking between Wufei's partner and the other dragons.

"There's some kind of truce for now," Wufei said in exasperation, wishing they would just drop the subject like sensible people. "It's not my business, I'm not going to pry."

Duo turned to Deathscythe impatiently. "Hey, ask Nataku why she's okay with this dude wanting to have offed her husband!"

_"My human wants to know why you tolerate Wing's presence,"_ Deathscythe relayed obligingly, with an added wordless mind-gesture that meant, _Aren't these idiot creatures amusing?_

_"My oath has not changed,"_ Nataku said to Wing, holding his eyes in challenge. _"Once our King returns, I will have no more use for you. You will not live to see the Sun Lands."_

_"It is I who should be saying that to you,"_ Wing retorted.

_"Oh,"_ Sandrock sighed, ruffling Quatre's hair, _"I wish we would not fight among ourselves."_

_"There are so few of us left, we cannot afford discord,"_ Heavyarms added, his tone hard.

_"Sure, but if someone stole a piece of our hoard or something,"_ Deathscythe began to object, but Heavyarms cut her off.

_"We CANNOT afford discord."_

Wing and Nataku acted as if they had not heard.

"Hey," Duo said, "it's getting close to morning...I think we should call dibs on our missions."

"I'm going after Treize," Wufei said at once. "Cut the head off the beast and the rest of it will die."

_"What are you implying?"_ Deathscythe snapped. In the interests of keeping the peace, Duo did not relay the message.

"Want some help with that?" he said instead, knowing the answer ahead of time.

"I'm headed deeper into the empire," Trowa said musingly. "Treize is just the face of it...there's something darker at the heart of Romefellar."

"Darker than attacking a defenseless country that stood only for peace?" Quatre said, sounding a little depressed.

"Well," Duo cut in with sarcastic brightness, "I think _I'll_ go zooming around the edges to clean up everything you guys miss, then go pick up the freaking pieces of what's left of you when you decide to come crying to me for help."

Trowa and Wufei frowned haughtily, and Quatre smiled at little.

"What about you, Hero-nii?" Hilde asked. All eyes turned toward the assassin.

Hero's head was bowed low. "...I've got something else to do first," he finally whispered, not looking up.

After a long pause, Quatre shifted closer and smiled compassionately at the other's bent head. "You would brave the dangers of Faerie for her?"

Hero's head came up, his eyes blazing. "I failed in my mission. It's not over yet - I can't move on when there's a mistake like this to rectify."

"I'll help you," Hilde offered. "I want to go rescue the princess and see all the other fairies."

"You are _not_," Duo said harshly, yanking her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her in sternly protective affection. "You're gonna stay right here with Deathscythe, where it's safe."

It took Hero a moment to get the implication. "Wait - you are _not_ coming with me," he snarled at Duo.

The magician grinned. "You forget, my friend - the two of you owe me money. You're not getting rid of me 'til you've paid up!"

_*permanently incomplete*_

Author's Notes: **In case you thought something was off about the dragons' speech - they sound fluent to each other when they're just talking among themselves, but when they speak to the humans, their communication is conveyed less grammatically to show that they're not as linguistically in tune with creatures of a different species.**

Sorry, guys...after three years of neglecting this story and falling more and more in love with Kingdom Hearts, I've reached the point where I simply can't finish this story properly. :/ I have to give up. Kingdom Hearts seems to be my One True Fandom, and I want to focus my writing efforts on either KH fanfiction or my original stories. Trying to write for other fandoms feels like a chore (or worse... *GLARES at Rurouni Kenshin fans), and I have no more inspiration for it. *wince* I hate leaving you guys hanging, though, and I really hate not finishing what I started... DX

Basically, this fic was like a fantasy version of the _Gundam Wing_ anime. Hero was going to help Relena & Noin escape from Faerie (the "five scientists" fae wanted him to kidnap Relena in order to rescue her from Uesa's clutches, because this would benefit Faerie), then join the other G-boys in attacking Uesa with their dragons. The battles would have awakened the dragon king. In the end, the dragons' situation was resolved to their satisfaction, Treize was killed in the final battle, Milliard went into hiding after being thought to have been killed in the final battle, Uesa was defeated and their colonies liberated, etc. Hero & Relena were also supposed to fall in love and end up together, though now I'm thinking their relationship is probably more like the distant, implied thing it was in the anime.

**To reb:** Thank you! I never read the Earthsea series, though I've read a few of LeGuin's other books. In retrospect, I think that the dragons in this fic, particularly Tallgeese, were most influenced by Scales in Diana Wynne Jones's _Dark Lord of Derkholm_. I like how Scales is portrayed as an intelligent, powerful, and intimidating person in his own right, yet also has some suitable animal-like characteristics to remind you that he's not human. :)

*re-reading other reviews* Marli8907, I'm glad you said that Hiiro & Relena seem more IC in this fic; and KiaCoral, what you said about platonic love made me REALLY HAPPY. :') One of the effects of being so obsessed with Kingdom Hearts for so long is that I've discovered how much I've always adored platonic love, so it was cool to see evidence of that in a fic I'd written long before coming to that realization, and to see someone pick up on it. X3 *hugs*


End file.
